Wednesday was reminiscent of a blustery March day with numerous showers, scattered thunderstorms with hail and several dramatic rainbows in between. Did you see one? Maybe a double rainbow? After Tuesday’s storm, cooler air aloft brought unstable air and, well, kept us wet. Snow in the upper ski areas continued.
The majority of rainbows we see take place in the spring months rather than late autumn. However, when we do this time of the year, we usually see the entire arc of the rainbow from one end to the other. That’s because the angle of the sun is much closer to the horizon. It is a site for waterlogged eyes in between the pelting rain. I love rainbows. In all the years of being a weather guy, I have chased rainbows to no end and have never found a penny much less a piece of gold. Maybe someday.
Winds from Tuesday’s storm were in the 25-35 mph range locally but much stronger along the coast. Ocean Park on the Long Beach Peninsula had a gust to 80 mph. Lots of trees down and power outages. Thank goodness the center of the massive storm remained off the coast, otherwise it would have been a major wind storm. The estimated barometric pressure in the center was 28.41 inches. Look at that on your home barometer!
Out of the 30 named tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic this season, this storm had lower pressure than 24 of them. Impressive? You bet. I would hate to have been out on a ship in those stormy seas.
