Spotless

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT-MESA -- It’s the New Year’s Day miracle that has blessed

locals every year -- well, at least for the last 47 years in a row.

It never rains in Southern California on the first day of the year.

The year 2002 was no exception. There was no rain in the forecast

Tuesday, said Noel Isla, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in

San Diego.

“It never rains on the Rose Parade,” he said. “That’s what they say.”

The weather conditions Tuesday were absolutely normal for this time of

the year -- not too hot nor too cold, Isla said. The forecast for the day

was mostly cloudy skies with daytime temperatures ranging from 60 to 67

degrees.

The next batch of showers are not expected until this evening when

there is said to be a 60% chance of showers.

“The weather pattern is pretty normal for this time of the year,” Isla

said.

But it hasn’t always been this predictable, forecasters say. There

have been some wild and unusual years in the past when it has either

poured or been unseasonably warm.

The last time it ever rained on New Year’s Day was in 1955 with a

recorded rainfall of 0.21 inches, said weather specialist Stuart Seto

with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.

The most it has ever rained on New Year’s Day, the record, was a

whopping 6.21 inches in 1934. The average temperatures for the day is a

high of 61 and low of 41 degrees. The record high for the day was a balmy

85 degrees in 1964 and the record low was a frigid 32 in 1952.

Seto said he cannot really explain scientifically why the rain gods

spare the Rose Parade year after year after year.

“It’s one of those odd things,” he said. “You can’t really say why.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .