Downtown L.A.’s ‘reverse’ spring followed by rainy June gloom

The drizzle and gray skies that shrouded Los Angeles on Wednesday morning were a preview of what Southern California has in store for the rest of the week, the National Weather Service said.

A strong onshore flow saturated the marine layer with extra moisture and turned a hazy morning into a hazy, wet morning, with rain reported from Burbank to Santa Monica to downtown L.A.

“It kind of comes with June gloom,” said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service.

The drizzle will make way to a windy afternoon, Seto said, especially in the Antelope Valley. The weather service has issued a wind advisory for the area from 2 to 10 p.m. Wednesday with gusts estimated to reach 45 mph.

But the gray skies and drizzle will persist each morning through Saturday, Seto said, before burning off in the afternoon.

Seto said the weather could get more interesting on Saturday evening, when there’s a 20% chance of heavier rain and thunderstorms.

The wet weather follows a pattern Southern California hasn’t seen in almost a century.

Downtown L.A. experienced its first “reverse” meteorological spring in nearly 100 years this year, as average daily temperatures which normally rise from March to April to May instead declined from each month to the next.

This rare weather event has not occurred since 1921, nearly a century ago.

Reverse meteorological springs have occurred three times since record-keeping began in 1877.

The weather event, however, is not necessarily an indicator for the future, Seto said.

In downtown Los Angeles, the average monthly temperature for March was 68.2 degrees. In April it was 65.8 degrees, and in May it was 64.1 degrees.

Average monthly temperatures from 1981 to 2010 for March, April and May in downtown Los Angeles were 60.6 degrees, 63.1 degrees and 65.8 degrees, respectively.

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