For prior seasons, click here.
Downtown Los Angeles skyline at night under the rain. Photo courtesy of Delia Thornton.
Why our “Rainfall Season” is different than that of the National Weather Service
Also see:
-- Downtown L.A. Total Seasonal Rainfall Since 1877
-- Downtown L.A. Record Rain Days by Month
-- Downtown L.A. Record Rainfall for Each Day of Year
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Burbank
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Beverly Hills
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Claremont
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Hawthorne
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Lancaster
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Long Beach
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Los Angeles International Airport
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Palmdale
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Pasadena
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Sandberg
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Santa Catalina Island
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Santa Clarita
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Santa Fe Dam (San Gabriel Valley)
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Santa Monica
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Torrance
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Van Nuys, Los Angeles
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Westwood, Los Angeles
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Whittier
-- Current Season Rainfall-to-Date - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
NOTE: When most weather reporting sources cite weather in Los Angeles (without specifying where, exactly, in Los Angeles), these numbers are typically for the Downtown Los Angeles weather station (actually located on the USC campus).
How Much Water is One Inch of Rain?
With a cumulative total of 53.59 inches of rainfall, thus far, for the last two rain seasons in Downtown L.A. (2022-2023 and 2023-2024), this is now the second wettest two consecutive rain seasons for Downtown since 1879. The wettest consecutive two seasons were between 1888 and 1890 with a combined 54.12 inches. This now places the last two seaons at just a little more than half an inch behind the wettest two consecutive years on record.
Effective Thursday, May 20, 2024, at about 8 AM Pacific Daylight Time, the official Downtown Los Angeles weather observations site will be relocated to the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center on the south side of Dodger Stadium (formerly known as the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center). The new location, approximately four miles northeast of the current observations site, is the training center for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The Downtown L.A. weather station has been located on the campus of the University of Southern California since 1999.
Rainfall measured in inches
| Date (May) | Rainfall Measured for Day | Month's Cumulative Rainfall Measured |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0.13 | 0.13 |
Recording 4.10 inches of rainfall on Feb. 4, 2024, Downtown L.A. recorded its wettest day in more than 20 years.
Los Angeles Almanac chart.
Monthly rainfall totals for previous seasons are found at Monthly Rainfall for Downtown Los Angeles.
Rainfall measured in inches
NOTE: Rainfall normals were updated on May 4, 2021.†
| Month | Rainfall For Month | Rainfall For Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured for Month | Monthly Normal† | Deviation from Monthly Normal | Measured for Season-to-Date | Season Normal-to-Date† | Deviation from Season Normal-to-Date | |
| Jul 2023 | 0.00 | 0.02 | -0.02 | 0.00 | 0.02 | -0.02 |
| Aug 2023 | 2.99 | 0.00 | +2.99 | 2.99 | 0.02 | +2.97 |
| Sep 2023 | 0.05 | 0.13 | -0.08 | 3.04 | 0.15 | +2.89 |
| Oct 2023 | Trace | 0.58 | -0.58 | 3.04 | 0.73 | +2.31 |
| Nov 2023 | 0.36 | 0.78 | -0.42 | 3.40 | 1.51 | +1.89 |
| Dec 2023 | 2.82 | 2.48 | +0.34 | 6.22 | 3.99 | +2.23 |
| Month | Rainfall For Month | Rainfall For Season | ||||
| Measured for Month | Monthly Normal† | Deviation from Monthly Normal | Measured for Season-to-Date | Season Normal-to-Date† | Deviation from Season Normal-to-Date | |
| Jan 2024 | 2.05 | 3.29 | -1.24 | 8.27 | 7.28 | +0.99 |
| Feb 2024 | 12.66 | 3.64 | +9.02 | 20.93 | 10.92 | +10.01 |
| Mar 2024 | 3.50 | 2.23 | +1.27 | 24.43 | 13.15 | +11.28 |
| Apr 2024 | 0.63 | 0.69 | -0.06 | 25.06 | 13.84 | +11.22 |
| May 2024 | -Pending- | 0.32 | --- | -Pending- | 14.16 | --- |
| Jun 2024 | -Pending- | 0.09 | --- | -Pending- | 14.25 | --- |
† Normals, recalculated every ten years, were updated on May 4, 2021. The total season normal for this station is 14.25 inches.
‡ Downtown L.A.'s cumulative rainfall received through February exceeded its entire seasonal normal (14.25 inches).
Source: National Weather Service Forecast Office, Los Angeles/Oxnard
Click on image for larger image.
Los Angeles Almanac chart. Dotted orange line is current seasonal rainfall normal for Downtown L.A. See L.A.'s Historic Seasonal Rainfall.
