By Reginald Stanley. Posted November 7, 2017, 12:45 AM.

The cool, unsettled start to November is a breath of fresh air for the region following a particularly warm, dry October this year.

Throughout the month of October, the region was affected by repeated episodes of warm, dry offshore flow. These conditions helped fuel a number of wildfires that burned in the region in October. Aside from a very minor event on the 20th, the month was very dry. In Temecula, which has a record dating back to 1999, October 2017 was the fourth-warmest recorded there. The month ended 3.3 degrees above the monthly average. Octobers of 1999, 2014 and 2015 were warmer, with the latter being the warmest recorded in Temecula at 4.9 degrees above average.

A shift towards low pressure over Southern California began to take place towards the very end of the month. November has opened with unsettled, cool, occasionally damp weather as a series of weak troughs pass through the region. Some parts of the Temecula Valley and surrounding areas received light rainfall Sunday and Monday. Seasonable, mild, but drier weather was forecast to continue through the week.