moisture

For the first time in months, widespread rainfall is drenching the Los Angeles area as a strong band of moisture from a dissipated tropical storm moves north.

The forecast storms are likely to include more moisture Thursday and Friday as they become more widespread, affecting “pretty much anywhere in Southern California,” Thompson said.

“We give it just the right touch of moisture before baking,” he said, “so it comes out crisp.”

Although this week's rainfall is welcome and will go some way to help river levels and soil moisture content, it will take some time for catchments to recover and for reservoirs and aquifers to respond.

Scientists say one of the main changes is that there is a much higher amount of moisture in the air now, from both the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea due to warmer climate.