To get the best picture of the storm, you need to visit a weather site and look at the animated satellite images. The rain and snow comes out of the Gulf of California, circles counterclockwise over Arizona into Utah, crosses the Mojave Desert, and then comes down over the Orange. Here on the fringe of the Santa Anas, I am right at the western edge of it. From here the clouds follow the coast to San Diego and disappear — as far as American eyes are concerned — into Baja to revisit the site of their nativity.

When you watch it, it looks like a very slow moving hurricane. Right now, the winds which tore down the branches and knocked over the trees yesterday have stopped. The clouds you see in the picture are coming towards me, contrary to the usual pattern.