Showers Spritz County, Making It Wettest July Since ’44 : Weather: While just traces fell in some areas Tuesday night and Wednesday, a storm earlier this month left heavier amounts.

A rare summer rainstorm danced over Orange County Wednesday, bringing dark clouds that looked more ominous than the light drizzle they produced but setting up July as the wettest on record since 1944.

The same storm system, however, dumped considerable rain on San Diego County and startled Los Angeles County residents with thunder and lightning.

Moisture was light in Orange County, with just .04 of an inch recorded in San Juan Capistrano and .08 near El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. On July 8, another freak storm moved across Orange County, leaving up to .16 of an inch of rain.

Wednesday’s monsoon condition caused havoc in San Diego County, where almost a quarter of an inch of rain fell on parts of that county. Power lines were downed and about 178,000 residences and businesses were without electricity.

In Los Angeles County, early-morning thunder and lightning awakened many residents, but only .04 of an inch of rain fell in the Hollywood area.

The end-of-July storm added one more twist to an unusual Southern California summer. Normally sunny July skies have been overcast for most of the month, and temperatures have been considerably cooler than normal.

According to Marty Trexler, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times, the unusual summer weather has been caused by a misplaced high-pressure system.

“Normally, a high-pressure area is centered over the Four Corners area (where the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona converge),” Trexler said. “But this summer, the high has been farther to the east, more over the Central Plains, in the Kansas area. This has allowed weather systems in the Pacific Ocean to drive farther south this summer, trailing cold fronts into Southern California and bringing showers.

“The position of the high this summer also has drawn more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the Southwest, as well as allowing the morning cloudiness and fog to move closer to the Pacific Coast. Normally, that cloudiness and fog would, in July, be 100 to 200 miles offshore, but this summer it has moved onto the California coastline.”

The strange, sunless summer has diminished beach activity in Orange County. But the cool, cloudy weather is credited with helping to reduce water consumption and also with keeping the smog away.

“Orange County has not had a single, first-stage smog alert in 1991, and, by contrast, there were three by this time a year ago in the La Habra area,” said Joe Cassmassi, senior meteorologist with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Cassmassi said that for the entire Los Angeles Basin, there have been only 15 first-stage smog alerts this year, compared to 20 as of July 31 a year ago. “We’ve definitely had a cleaner season,” he said. “The weather has contributed to this.”

The cooler, cloudy weather also has cut down water use, according to a random survey of water districts in Orange County.

“We had 20% less consumption this July, compared to July a year ago,” said John Concar, assistant manager of the El Toro Water District. “I’d like to think that conservation efforts are responsible, but we’re getting a lot of help this summer from Mother Nature.”

In Huntington Beach, Linda Daily, senior analyst with the city’s water department, also reported a big drop in water use this summer.

“We were down 24% for May and June, and down 28% in July,” Daily said. “We don’t know if it was water conservation by users or the weather, but we’re happy with the result.”

In South County, the San Clemente-based Tri-Cities Water District reported that use this summer, compared to last year, is down about 30%. By contrast, the officials noted that San Clemente was facing a dangerously low reservoir in the summer of 1989.

Lifeguards have reported mostly vacant beaches due to the cooler days of June and July. But according to forecaster Trexler, the traditional weather pattern of Orange County will be returning about the middle of August.

Trexler said the high-pressure area, now over Kansas, will probably move back westward, to its normal haunt, within the next two weeks.

“When that happens, the weather in California is going to get sunnier and drier,” Trexler added.

You Call This Summer?

It was an unusual July--cloudy mornings, cold days and even thundershowers. The unseasonal weather is slipping around a high-pressure system normally positioned to keep overcast skies at bay.

1) JET STREAM DIVERTED

This summer, a high-pressure system formed normally develops over the Southwest, allowing the jet stream to drop closer to California. Storms that ride along the stream brought winterlike weather to the area, causing gray days and cooler temperatures.

3) MOISTURE MOVES IN

Tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico drifted into Southern California, in the absence of the high-pressure system. The moist air often creates conditions for rain and thunderstorms, as happened Wednesday.

3) CLEAR SKIES AHEAD

Regular summer weather is predicted to return this month, as the system migrates back to its usual location.

Source: WeatherData