At head of title: U.S. Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau. This work was sponsored by the Reactor Development Division, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Introduction. pp. 1. 2. Streamline analysis of most frequent surface winds. pp. 3. 3. Surface wind frequency data. pp. 22. 4. Detailed analyses of surface wind observations. pp. 37. 5. Winds aloft data. pp. 40. 6. Vertical temperature data. pp. 45. 7. Precipitation. pp. 58. 8. Synoptic regimes. pp. 61. 9. Other modifiers and indicators of transport and dispersion. pp. 65. 10. Related specialized studies by otehr investigators. pp. 70. 11. Major sources of data. pp. 71. Annotated bibliography. pp. 72. Appendix A. Station descriptions and identification. pp. 81. Appendix B. Inversion data. pp. 86. Appendix C. Long Beach inversion tabulations. pp. 86.

The rapid growth of population and industry in southern California is causing an ever increasing demand for electrical power and eventually expanded use of nuclear energy. For this reason, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission requested that the U.S. Weather Bureau compile and evaluate the available meteorological data pertinent to atmospheric transport and dispersion over southern California. The summaries in this report give an indication of the manner in which effluents move from one place to another and of the capacity of the atmosphere to reduce the concentration of effluents emitted into it. However, these summaries are not all-inclusive for any area in southern California. The generalized pictures of the movement of air and the dilution capacity of the atmosphere presented herein are intended to provide data that may be useful for preliminary considerations in selecting nuclear reactor sites. 1. Introduction. pp. 1 -- 2. Streamline analysis of most frequent surface winds. pp. 3 -- 3. Surface wind frequency data. pp. 22 -- 4. Detailed analyses of surface wind observations. pp. 37 -- 5. Winds aloft data. pp. 40 -- 6. Vertical temperature data. pp. 45 -- 7. Precipitation. pp. 58 -- 8. Synoptic regimes. pp. 61 -- 9. Other modifiers and indicators of transport and dispersion. pp. 65 -- 10. Related specialized studies by other investigators. pp. 70 -- 11. Major sources of data. pp. 71 -- Annotated bibliography. pp. 72 -- Appendix A. Station descriptions and identification. pp. 81 -- Appendix B. Inversion data. pp. 86 -- Appendix C. Long Beach inversion tabulations. pp. 86.