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Rain Passes Through but Area Still Dry

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

A storm system passed through Southern California on Thursday, ushering in enough showers to dampen roads and hastily unfurled umbrellas, but not nearly enough to affect the drought that has gripped the state for nearly four years.

The first rain of December--and possibly the last of the year--hit the Los Angeles area and Orange County early Thursday as the weak frontal system worked its way south toward San Diego and then east into Arizona, said Rick Dittmann, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“We’re not looking at anything significant,” said Dittmann. “It’s not going to be a drought-breaker by any means.”

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Since July, only 1.07 inches of rain have been recorded at the Los Angeles Civic Center. That is more than three inches below normal.

“It’s looking pretty bad,” Dittmann said.

“We can still have a wet January, February and March and end up above normal,” the forecaster said. “But again, it needs to kick in soon.”

The low-pressure system, moving along the coastline from Northern California, was expected to bring little relief, dropping less than .10 of an inch of rain in the Los Angeles area, and perhaps a quarter of an inch in the mountains before beginning to clear the Southland by this morning, Dittmann said.

“It doesn’t have the moisture to be a heavy rain producer for Southern California,” Dittmann said. “It’s moving so quickly (that) any showers will be moving quickly also and it won’t be able to rain on any area for long.”

Nevertheless, moderate to heavy rains were reported in the San Diego area during the evening.

The National Weather service said the storm dumped 1.01 inches at Lindbergh Field between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. The downpour tied the all-time record for the date set in 1931.

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By late Thursday, only traces had been reported from Newport Beach north to Westwood, the weather service said.

An upper-level low-pressure system will remain in the storm’s wake, settling on the southwest coast and possibly bringing showers to some local areas over the next two days.

But “as it looks now,” said Dittmann, “we’ll have fair weather over the weekend and into the new year.”

Thursday’s Civic Center high was 65 degrees. A similar reading was expected today, with a high near 70 on Saturday, forecasters say.

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