Current Conditions
National Weather Service
for Sierra Madre, Ca
Current conditions on
Forest Service website »
Real-Time Photo from Mt. Wilson Camera
We will try to update this section weekly, but free time and our satellite internet connection do not always allow this.
Canyon Report as of 8/15/09
Weather
This weekend should be sunny and warm, but not too hot, thanks to the heavy marine layer in the morning. We sit above the fog, so when mornings are gray in town, it is sunny here. However, the conditions are very dry, so please be very cautious with campfires or when smoking. The surface of the road into and out of the canyon is very hot, so please avoid bring dogs during the hottest part of the day - you have shoes, they don't!
Water Flow
Rain totals were low this past season, but the streams and waterfalls are still flowing well. Measurable precipitation at this time should lessen the effect that Alder trees and other plants have on the waterline midday.
Birds, Insects, Snakes & Other Critters
Possibly some gnats and mosquitoes - pack station sells bug wipes. We are at the height of Rattlesnakes season. There have been lots of bear sightings, including and especially at Chantry Flat. Please keep an eye on your kids and your dogs leashed.
In Bloom Now
California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) is loaded with dirty-white flower clusters. Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimilus aurantiacus) are looking good with their orange flowers...
Click to Enlarge
Fire Danger Level
Rain for 08/09 Season
Total: 20.69 inches for the season.
- 6/06: .05"
- 6/04: .61"
- 4/16: 2.00"
- 3/5: .57"
- 2/17: .90"
- 2/16: 2.00"
- 2/14: .85"
- 2/09: 1.25"
- 2/07: 2.05"
- 2/06: 3.20"
- 12/25: 1.07"
- 12/22: .21"
- 12/17: .60"
- 12/16 - 12/17 overnight: .02"
- 12/15 Noon - 12/16: .62"
- 12/15 Midnight - Noon: 1.70"
- 12/13: .04"
- 11/25 - 11/26/08: .40"
- 11/24 - 11/25/08: 1.65"
- 11/9: .67"
- 11/4: .23"
Precipitation Page at
LA County Public Works
Rain for 07/08 Season
Total: about 33.65 inches for the season.
- 5/23 - 5/24/08: 0.25"
- 5/23/08: .85" from 8:30 am to noon, 1.03" by 5:00 pm
- 5/22 - 5/23/08: 2.05"
- 2/23 - 2/24/08: 0.89"
- 2/22/08: 0.80"
- 2/21 - 2/22/08: 1.00"
- 2/19/08: 0.15"
- 2/3 - 2/4/08: 1.25" - Most of this rain came when it was dry and partly cloudy in town. This demonstrates how different the weather is up here from in town.
- 1/27 - 1/28/08: 2.70" - These storms at the end of January provided much less rain than the storms at the beginning of the month, but the stream levels were MUCH higher because of the saturation.
- 1/26 - 1/27/08: 2.25"
- 1/24 - 1/25/08: 2.45"
- 1/23 - 1/24/08: 1.32"
- 1/6 - 1/7/08: 1.37"
- 1/5 - 1/6/08: 1.98"
- 1/4 - 1/5/08: 6.5" | around 8" up at Sturtevant's Camp | peak inflow at Santa Anita Dam was 264 cubic feet per second (for comparison, the peak inflow during the storm two years ago was 1,700 cf/s)
- 12/17/07: 2.65"
- 12/6/07: 2.95"
- 12/9/07: 3.5" (Sierra Madre only recorded 1.13" so that illustrates how much more rain we get in the "upslope areas")
- 11/30/07: 1.15"
- 1.75" of rain during that freak September storm