By Reginald Stanley. Posted July 1, 2024, 7:17 AM.

The 2023-2024 winter was characterized by strong El Nino conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and brought widespread above-average precipitation to Southern California for the second year in a row.

The season got off to a strong start in August 2023 with the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Hilary to the southern part of the state, bringing widespread heavy rainfall to the region and extensive flash flooding in the deserts. Locally strong winds also occurred throughout the region, with the strongest gust of 87 MPH occurring at Magic Mountain in Los Angeles County, as well as 84 MPH at Big Black Mountain in San Diego County. In the WeatherCurrents network, Pinon Hills recorded the highest storm total with 6.65 inches. Totals ranged from between one and four inches elsewhere.

Following a period of extended warm, dry weather in October, storms began arriving in Southern California in mid-November, although these were mostly weak. This pattern continued periodically into early January 2024, until a series of stronger, wetter storms began on January 20. The wettest part of the rainy season occurred in early February, when several very wet atmospheric river storm events brought record rainfall to the region. Between two and six inches of rain fell across the WeatherCurrents network from February 4 to 8. Wet weather continued throughout the remainder of February and March, followed by intermittent weak storms in April and early May.

Temperatures were warmer during the 2023-2024 winter compared to the same period in 2022-2023, with most storms being warmer in nature in early 2024. Season totals were above-average, although not quite as wet as the previous winter. South Fallbrook recorded the highest season total in the WeatherCurrents network for 2023-2024, with 22.39 inches there. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, a season total of 20.60 inches was reported (courtesy of Jim Sappington). Season totals were lower across the eastern valleys and Riverside, as is typical for those areas - however these totals were still above average for those areas. On average, season totals were roughly 150 percent of normal. According to the Climate Prediction Center, ENSO-neutral conditions were present as of June 2024, with La Nina conditions expected to develop (65 percent chance) during July-September, and persist into the 2024-2025 winter (85 percent chance).

Here are the 2023-2024 season totals for the WeatherCurrents network and associates. WeatherCurrents stations in Perris and Riverside (Presidential Park) were excluded due to inaccuracies or extended station outages there. Season averages were only calculated for stations with at least five years of accurate precipitation data:

1. French Valley season total incomplete.