Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-02
MONDAY, DECEMBER g, 1850.
An Unusually moist Dispensation.

An Unusually Moist DispensatiOu.
The change which has come over this
section in the matter of rainfall is rad
ical in the extreme. Until quite recently
We had the reputation Of dwelling here
in one Of the driest portions of the
Union, in q region whose rainfall was
nearly always scsnt, aud absolutely
always uncertain. And this reputation
was not by any means q libel on our
climate. There we're good reasons for it.
Going back to the season of 1901 and
taking the record Of the precipitation at
Anaheim, and it appears that dry sea-
sons abounded. In that year only seven
inches of rain fell. In 1923 and 1854
only four inches fell in each year. Those
who were here at that time remember
well the thousands of dead cattle and
sheep that covered all the plains. and
whose putrid flesh made the air foul for
months. In 1869.70 the rainfall was only
four inches, and the next year it WAS
only seven. Here was a decade
and year over in which there
we're Eve years of drought, for it requires
1T least ten inches of rain to make a good
year, and more than an average of that
amount. The precipitation OF the rainy
years in the period reviewed above ran
at ten to fifteen inches each, only one
year resching the higher figure. Here
was the basis on which the bad reputa-
ton Of the section for rainfall rests, and
this is all the basis there exists for such
. bad reputation.
From the season of 1901 to the cur
rent season is nearly twenty years, or
twice the lapse of time in the period Of
frequent droughts just glanced at. From
the first settlement of California by
Americans to the year 1860, there is
little complaint of dry seasons en-.
eountered in converting with old-timers,
or in reading such records as
exist; and the records of the
past twenty years, which are abund-
ant under the head of precipitation
there is not one dry year found. Private
records kept from 1872 to 1S7S-s0 show
that the rainfall in Los Angeles
runs at from IL to "a inches during
those years. In only two seasons was
the moisture represented by the lowest
figure, and in five seasons the figures ran
above 20. The first record OF the
Signal Service office covers the season of
1883. From that to the last season the
figures range at from little less than 10
inches to nearly 40 inches. For the past
eighteen years the average has been a
little more than II inches.
These records from which the above
data are taken were made at Anaheim
and Los Angeles. The precipitation in
this city is usually about fair average
for what is usually known as the
Los Angeles valley. This is a section
lying along the ocean from the noun
tains west OF Santa Monica to those just
south of San Juan Capistrano, 60 or 20
miles Of sea coast, and strstching back to
the mountains in the interior, the mcst
easterly point lying back Of San Bernar-
dino, at the San Gorgonio pass, go or 70
miles from the ocean. To the southeast,
that is from Anaheim to San Juan, the
rainfall is usually less than in this city,
and along the foot of the mountains it is
heavier. In the high regions of the
mountains it will average twice as much
as in this city.
Thus it appears that this section is one
Of the best watered in the Union. 1t
must be borne in mind that this rain all
falls within 6 months of each season, and
usually within months. As rule the
greater part Of it falls within the 4
months, December to March, inclusive.
The meaning of this is that an inch OF
rain here does as much good as two or
three inches in countries where the pre-.
cipitation is distributed all over the year,
much Of 1t occurring at time when it
is useless, and really large portion of
it at times when it is positively in.
furious. By its concentration, our rain is
all made effective for the production of
crops.
The present season is 8 case which
proves that Los Angeles has much
greater reason to fear food than to
doubt that there will be sufficient rain to
make good crops. When the season
gives much more than the average pre-
cipitation the crops are not 30 good. 1t
would be preferable that the rains should
fall an inch or two below the general
average than that they should 90 above
it. When the seasons are wet for ten or
more years, all the receptacles in the
mountains, the whole vast mass
Of the mountains themselves,
and all the plains become full
of moisture. Such has now been the
case for over dozen years. Under ouch
circumstances 10 inches OF rain, most Of
it falling later than the middle OF Decem.
Der, will make excellent crops.
This year the rains began extremely
early, and they have bsen unusually
frequent and copious. Ga the last day
of August there was downpour OF .62 of
an inch. September was dry as it
usually is; but October produced 90
inches of rain, nearly all of it in single
protrac,ed storm. The heavy rain in
August, and this food in October are
without parallel in the former history of
this section. November gave about a
normal precipitation, the month yielding
- = =. II -. L.. I>.-k A. Il