Southern California gets more June gloom with cooler temps, clouds

Sep 17, 2023

Southern Californians yearning for sunshine can instead expect another week of June gloom, with a chance of thunderstorms and showers on the horizon.

A cloudy weather pattern across the Los Angeles area is expected to last until at least Thursday, when there's a small chance of some clearing, according to the National Weather Service. By Friday, the area will again be enveloped in cloud cover, with the chance of night and morning drizzle.

During the late spring, the upper atmosphere tends to be more stagnant, but troughs of low pressure still pass over the region, resulting in the low clouds characteristic of the region's trademark May gray and June gloom.

The marine layer forms when the layer of air near the ocean's surface is cooler than the air above it, an "inversion" of abruptly warmer air that traps the cooler air and forms clouds.

California

Southern California's May gray has been stubborn. Here's an explanation. But be prepared for June gloom.

A low-pressure system continued across Kern County on Wednesday morning, as a band of showers drifted out of Los Angeles County. Thunderstorms also moved out of Kern County into San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Temperatures are expected to range from the mid-to-upper 60s into the 70s.

"Right now, we’re thinking we’ll have a little more clearing mid-next week," National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said. "It's fairly seasonal to have June gloom."

There's a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms through Wednesday in mountainous regions, especially in Ventura County. Rainfall totals of up to 1 inch and wind gusts as strong as 40 mph are expected. Pea-sized hail is also possible.

World & Nation

Tens of millions of Americans were under air quality alerts as smoke and pollution from wildfires in Canada settled over New York and other East Coast cities.

The valleys in Los Angeles County received some light drizzle from Tuesday to early Wednesday, including a hundredth of an inch of rain in Chatsworth, Pasadena, Van Nuys and Woodland Hills. Ventura County got more rain, with Ojai and Lockwood Valley each getting 0.60 of an inch.

The weather service has recommended people avoid low water crossings and small creeks, stay indoors to avoid lightning, prepare for power outages and stay alert for changing conditions on roads.

There's another chance of showers this weekend but no heavy rain. .

"Again, it's not like winter-storm level," Schoenfeld said. "It's a little bit of rain."