Too Much Rain

In Southern California rain is feared in the same way snow is feared in New England. If rain is in the forecast, it leads! No exceptions. Communities that suffered summertime fires now wait to see if hillsides will hold or slide. Phrases like “burn scar area” begin appearing on TV and in the papers.

I started writing this last night while sitting on the patio. Five feet away rain was splashing down on the bricks. It was chilly. It was damp. It was SoCal unlike what we’d seen our first three winters.

This is the rainiest winter so far and we’ve just begun. The “wet season” is here until February.

Every time I mention rain Albert Hammond somehow shows up on my Facebook timeline. SoCal rain is like money in-the-bank for Albert Hammond — literally!

Rainfall here is calculated on an October to September basis. That allows each ‘year’ to represent an actual season.

Last year at this time we were at 1.22″. The long term average says 3.94″. We were still deep in the drought.

This year we’re at 5.82″, nearly two inches above average. The drought is still on, but it’s a whole lot easier to get out of a drought than get in!

Of course what falls here is of little consequence for drinking water and most agriculture. Rain falls so infrequently it doesn’t make sense to harvest it. It’s much more efficient to pipe it in from the Sierras and (here in South Orange County) Colorado River, both hundreds of miles away.

In Southern California rain is feared in the same way snow is feared in New England. If rain is in the forecast, it leads! No exceptions.

Communities that suffered summertime fires now wait to see if hillsides will hold or slide. Phrases like “burn scar area” begin appearing on TV and in the papers.

The Facebook page for my local community offered sandbags for those who need them. Not here. We’re good.

More showers are on tap for tonight, then Wednesday/Thursday and Saturday/Sunday/Monday.

All this rain is getting to me. That proves I’m not yet a Southern Californian. They love it!

4 thoughts on “Too Much Rain”

  1. Send that rain to your old stomping grounds. CT really needs precipitation. Especially NW hills where I live.

    Happy New Year Geoff.

  2. They may love it, but I remember that the local stations warn you not to drive or take great caution..
    Your Orange County residents fear rain on the highway more than we New Englanders fear snow.

  3. We are having a pretty normal rainy season up here, and i hear all these recent arrivals bitching. “We were told it never rains here!” they whine. Thankfully there is snow forecast in the Sierra, up to seven feet over the next ten days in some places. Now we need to hope it doesn’t melt too quickly in the spring.

  4. Rain now in So. Calif gives you green grass—-we used to say, in January/Feb. Not sure if it applies to later, also. It may not help your drinking water supply (Snow in the mountains will help that)–but it will sure as heck help the veggies and fruits to grow. So put on a sweater and enjoy it.
    Watched the RB parade this morning—the cloudy day made for those folk watching it live, a good show. I’ll bet there were more than a few curbside fires going during the night. I camped there 2 yrs in a row–it did get chilly—sleeping bag felt good. Great memories.

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