Weather Forecasts

Best known for his intense portrayal of a traumatized amnesiac in "Memento," Guy Pearce embarks on another head trip in the psychological drama "First Snow." But while his character in Christopher Nolan's scrambled film noir suffered the frustrations of a blank-slate mind, the predicament here is just the opposite: too much information.

Oil prices settled below $60 a barrel for the first time in three months Monday, as forecasts calling for warmer weather sparked a wave of selling. Earlier in the month, the market had moved lower on signs of weakening gasoline demand after a summertime jump in pump prices. Light sweet crude for December fell $1.46 to settle at $59.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since July 28. In other Nymex trading, natural gas futures declined 85 cents to settle at $12.

Don't shoot the messenger -- yet! As Ross King of KTLA-TV (Channel 5) was starting his weather forecast one night, a bang could be heard in the background. The media website ronfineman.com noted that anchor Hal Fishman sought to reassure King by quipping: "We're not going to shoot you until after the forecast."

California gasoline prices have fallen to their lowest level since February, and steep declines Monday in petroleum futures pointed to cheaper gas ahead. The statewide average cost of self-serve regular slipped 3.9 cents over seven days to $2.01 a gallon, according to a weekly survey released Monday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ten straight weeks of price decreases have cut 39 cents off the average cost of gasoline in the state.

As for the chances of the NFL returning to L.A., former Gov. Gray Davis told ESPN.com: "I don't think we'll ever see another football team here. The NFL keeps claiming they're going to come here. It may happen. It could also rain beer." Funny he should say that. I haven't seen it rain beer since the last time I sat in the stands at an L.A. Raiders game. Cops 'n' eats: The love of doughnuts among the men in blue is well known.

Forecasts of soaring temperatures and plunging humidity posed new problems for firefighters Tuesday as they battled five wildfires that had blackened more than 10,000 acres in Ventura, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. The largest of the fires, north of Ojai, continued to burn out of control Tuesday night after charring more than 7,500 acres of brush and timber and destroying four unoccupied ranch buildings.

The second storm in less than a week is expected to bring rain to Ventura County today, and a third front should hit the area by Monday, forecasters said. The storm is expected to drop about an inch of rain along the coast and as much as 3 inches in some foothill areas before it clears after 8 p.m., said Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service's Oxnard office.

Independence Day may fall smack-dab in the middle of the week this year, but that didn't stop droves of revelers from setting out Tuesday for Fourth of July fun in Ventura County. Many were planning to swim, surf, camp and party for several days, despite a less-than-ideal weather forecast.