A dry El Niño year followed by a wet start to what is expected to be a dry year in Southern California has raised questions about California’s climate. California is a state of extremes when it comes to precipitation, which has alternated between drought and excessive rain throughout recorded history. Los Angeles, for example, has an average of 15 inches of rain a year, even though the city rarely nears that amount. In the past 30 years, Los Angeles has gone from extremely dry years to well above average years of rain, which results in the 15-inch average overall.