Drought in California, November 1 to 30, 2009

Name: Drought in California, November 1 to 30, 2009
Start: 2009-11-01T00:00
End: 2009-11-30T23:59
Location: California

November 1 to 30, 2009 · NWS SGX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Scattered showers brought light amounts of rain on the 6th and 12th. The first real rain of the season occurred on the 28th and 29th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.

Scattered showers brought light amounts of rain on the 6th and 12th. The first real rain of the season occurred on the 28th and 29th. Several mountain locations received over an inch of rain, and higher elevations received six to twelve inches of snow. Rainfall amounts in the valley ranged anywhere from one-tenth of an inch to over one inch.

The State of Emergency for the State of California, as well as the Secretarial Disaster Declaration, remained in place. Some mandatory and voluntary water restrictions remained in place as well. Beginning November 1st, San Diego residents have been restricted to running sprinklers for only seven minutes a day before 10 am and after 4 pm. The Weekly U.S. Drought Monitor had all areas except for the deserts classified as D2 (severe drought), while the deserts remained at D1 (moderate drought).

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 31, 8:00 PM PST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 8:00 PM PST, 4 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
900 PM PDT SAT OCT 31 2009

.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD AND BRING FAIR AND WARMER
WEATHER THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A SLIGHT COOLING TREND AND SOME
COASTAL LOW CLOUDS WILL RETURN THE SECOND HALF OF NEXT WEEK AS THE
HIGH WEAKENS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...

A PERSISTENT HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE WARM DAYS AND
COOL NIGHTS WITH LOW HUMIDITIES INLAND FOR SEVERAL MORE DAYS...AT
LEAST THROUGH TUESDAY. OFFSHORE FLOW DURING THE NIGHTS AND MORNINGS
WILL ALTERNATE WITH ONSHORE FLOW DURING THE AFTERNOONS THROUGH
WEDNESDAY. AT TIMES...MAINLY DURING THE MORNINGS...THERE WILL BE
SOME BREEZY SPOTS IN THE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS BELOW CANYONS AND
PASSES. THE RIDGE WILL BUILD A LITTLE MORE THROUGH MONDAY AND
TUESDAY AND TEMPERATURES WILL PEAK AROUND THEN. ON WEDNESDAY AND
THURSDAY THE RIDGE BEGINS TO WEAKEN AND ONSHORE FLOW INCREASES SO
THAT BY THURSDAY WE EXPECT TO SEE SOME COASTAL CLOUDS AND FOG
APPEAR. HEADING INTO NEXT WEEKEND...THE FORECAST GUIDANCE PUTS
EITHER A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH TO OUR SOUTHEAST (EURO) OR A CLOSED
UPPER LOW TO OUR SOUTH (GFS). THE EURO HAS BEEN MORE CONSISTENT SO
IT LOOKS LIKE WE WILL HANG OUT ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE UPPER RIDGE
FOR A WHILE WITH CONTINUED SEASONAL WEATHER.

&&

.AVIATION...
010430Z...THE COASTAL MARINE LAYER LOW CLOUDS WILL STAY WELL
OFFSHORE FOR CONTINUED VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH SUNDAY. SMALL

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER PATTERN THROUGH TUESDAY. OFFSHORE PRESSURE
GRADIENTS OF 8-12 MB BETWEEN NORTHERN UTAH/NEVADA AND SW CALIFORNIA
COAST TO CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY. THESE ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO
GENERATE SUSTAINED NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS 10-15 MPH WITH GUSTS
AROUND 30 MPH THROUGH AND BELOW CANYONS AND PASSES...MAINLY EVENING
AND MORNING HOURS. HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE ALOFT BUILDING THROUGH MONDAY
AND CONTINUING STRONG INTO TUESDAY WILL LEAD TO VERY WARM
CONDITIONS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY. FORECASTING WIDESPREAD
MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY BETWEEN 10-15 PERCENT ON SUNDAY AND 5 TO
10 PERCENT ON MONDAY. TUESDAY LIKELY TO START OUT JUST AS WARM AND
DRY WITH WINDS REVERSING TO SOUTHWEST AND INCREASING DURING THE
AFTERNOON AS PRESSURE GRADIENTS SHIFT TO ONSHORE.

&&

.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

PUBLIC...PG
AVIATION...SMALL
FIRE WEATER...BALFOUR

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Apple and Lucerne Valleys

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Apple and Lucerne Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coachella Valley

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Coachella Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Orange County Coastal Areas

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Orange County Coastal Areas forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought, Riverside County Mountains

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Riverside County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys - the Inland Empire

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys - the Inland Empire forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 34.293, -116.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Bernardino County Mountains

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Coastal Areas

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Coastal Areas forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Deserts

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Deserts forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Mountains

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, San Diego County Valleys

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: San Diego County Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills

When: November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 30, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 33.483, -116.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in California, November 2009

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 201058, 201059, 201060, 201061, 201062, 201063, 201064, 201065, 201066, 201067, 201068.