DesertWeather.com Community Blog

Some local data from this recent storm: (provisional data, may not be verified)

• Friday’s High of 71 is 25 degrees below average for May 23rd
• From 113° on Sunday to 71° on Friday, that’s a difference of 42 degrees in 5 days!
• Palm Springs sets Lowest Maximum Temperature record for this day at 71°! (Old record 80° in 1995)
• Thermal sets Lowest Maximum Temperature record for this day at 75°! (Old record 76° in 1977)
• Beaumont sets Lowest Maximum Temperature record for this day at 49°! (Old record 55° in 1965)
• Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains see a dusting of snow
• Barometric pressure drops to 29.30in (lowest recorded for DesertWeather.com, data history: appx. 6 years)

Rain Totals (storm):

• Thousand Palms (DesertWeather.com): 0.14″
• Palm Springs:0.03
• Rancho Mirage: 0.12
• Indio: 0.59
• Thermal:0.04
• Whitewater: 0.02
• Beaumont: 0.40
• Mountain Center: 0.87
• Borrego Springs: 0.08

2001: It was 116° in Palm Springs, the highest temperature on record for May. This also occurred on 5.28.2003 and 5.28.1983.

• 79° here in the valley (18 degrees below normal)
• From 112° on Monday to 79° today (33 degree drop)
• Heavy Showers and Thunderstorms in the LA and inland empire areas
• Hail
• Snow in Big Bear
• Tornadoes in Moreno Valley

Sounds like a winter storm we would see in January or February.  The rare, month of may, shift from heat wave to “winter-like” storm brought a mix of extreme weather to Southern California today.  News and photos links provided below.

Slideshow of today wild weather via KABC Los Angeles.

image source abc7.com

From 112° on Monday to 79° on Friday with a chance of sprinkles? That’s a mistake, no, that is the change we will see this week due to major shift south in the jet stream that will brake down the current, strong, high pressure that has brought us the 17 degrees above normal temperatures we saw on Monday.