Hurray!! - at least a little rain for Northern Calfornia!

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat drought watchers,

Well at last the rain gods have smiled on Northern California!



It wasn't a lot of rain, but it was 50% more than forecast and should be enough to at least wash down all the dust and pollen that we have been suffering from.  That in turn should help with allergies!

All of a sudden there is a chance for another weak storm on Wednesday/Thursday and still weather model consistency for more rain on the weekend.  So perhaps there is light at the end of this drought tunnel!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

'Bout time.

I like the look and feel of your Apple Script alerts.

[HantaYo]

It's been snowing off and for the past week in Colorado so maybe some of the moisture is coming from California.  Some of the mountain locations have received 6' of snow the past week with 16.7"  at my station.  We are still in a drought but maybe it is beginning to change.

[elagache]

Hi Blick, Jeff, and WeatherCat climate watchers,

I like the look and feel of your Apple Script alerts.

Thanks!  That's mostly the handwork of the WC Storm Monitor Applescript.

It's been snowing off and for the past week in Colorado so maybe some of the moisture is coming from California.  Some of the mountain locations have received 6' of snow the past week with 16.7"  at my station.  We are still in a drought but maybe it is beginning to change.

Yes indeed the forecast has gone from drought to deluge.  There is some serious risks of flooding with the rain expected for this weekend.  I'll have to make a check of the drains today while it continues to rain:



Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Oh by the way, if you were curious at how accurate the Zambretti forecast is for California anyway . . . . . take a look at the first Growl notification!!

[HantaYo]

Another day of snow with the Pineapple Express (Around 22" so far)   Monarch Pass has been closed all day due to an avalanche- might not make it to work tomorrow. 

Man 10.84" of rain in California.  Elagache, hoping its reaching you.  A little too much though in places.  It would be nice if it was spread out over a month or two. 

[Randall75]

Hi HantaYo and Edouard
 I would think as dry it is and as low as the lakes and water supplies are you would think that you would take it how ever you can get it right now I have seen nothing but white here now for over 2 months and tired of it


cheers




 

[HantaYo]

Hi HantaYo and Edouard
 I would think as dry it is and as low as the lakes and water supplies are you would think that you would take it how ever you can get it right now I have seen nothing but white here now for over 2 months and tired of it






 

YEsterdays and todays snow was so wet I could hardly snow blow it.  Clogged up the chute and at times the wheels did not move.  Got it slowly.  Snowing hard and the pass is closed.

[elagache]

Dear Randall, Jeff, and WeatherCat winter watchers,

Wow!!  What a start to February we have had!!  Here is the rain of this past week:



Counting the storm that brought us a little rain at the end of January we are now at 5.33" (135mm.)  That's more than double the amount of all the rain we had accumulated since July-1, and we should get some more before this storm finally blows through tonight.  It is a big help, but we are hardly out of the woods.  We should have 19" (482mm) of rain by the end of this month.  Still, so much rain is such a short period of time has its own hazards.  So far no reports of any serious damage and we have lucked out: no flooding or broken branches.  Still, the plants are getting a beating of another kind.  Here is what our Acacia tree looked like a few weeks ago:



Here is what it looked like yesterday:

YEsterdays and todays snow was so wet I could hardly snow blow it.  Clogged up the chute and at times the wheels did not move.  Got it slowly.  Snowing hard and the pass is closed.

When these storms turn to snow they must be particularly nasty because of the high moisture content of the snow.  Portland Oregon apparently got into a near crisis situation when the rain turned to snow and they weren't equipped to deal with it.

I would think as dry it is and as low as the lakes and water supplies are you would think that you would take it how ever you can get it right now I have seen nothing but white here now for over 2 months and tired of it

Keep of the faith Randall!  If the jet stream continues to shift further south toward its normal trajectory, that should help with warming up your corner of the country and bringing much more moisture.  I assume that the snow you have been getting has been very dry, so for all the suffering, you won't get much runoff for all that white.

Cheers, Edouard 

[HantaYo]

Dear Randall, Jeff, and WeatherCat winter watchers,

Wow!!  What a start to February we have had!!  Here is the rain of this past week:



Counting the storm that brought us a little rain at the end of January we are now at 5.33" (135mm.)  That's more than double the amount of all the rain we had accumulated since July-1, and we should get some more before this storm finally blows through tonight.  It is a big help, but we are hardly out of the woods.  We should have 19" (482mm) of rain by the end of this month.  Still, so much rain is such a short period of time has its own hazards.  So far no reports of any serious damage and we have lucked out: no flooding or broken branches.  Still, the plants are getting a beating of another kind.  Here is what our Acacia tree looked like a few weeks ago:



Here is what it looked like yesterday:

YEsterdays and todays snow was so wet I could hardly snow blow it.  Clogged up the chute and at times the wheels did not move.  Got it slowly.  Snowing hard and the pass is closed.

When these storms turn to snow they must be particularly nasty because of the high moisture content of the snow.  Portland Oregon apparently got into a near crisis situation when the rain turned to snow and they weren't equipped to deal with it.

I would think as dry it is and as low as the lakes and water supplies are you would think that you would take it how ever you can get it right now I have seen nothing but white here now for over 2 months and tired of it

Keep of the faith Randall!  If the jet stream continues to shift further south toward its normal trajectory, that should help with warming up your corner of the country and bringing much more moisture.  I assume that the snow you have been getting has been very dry, so for all the suffering, you won't get much runoff for all that white.

Cheers, Edouard 

Great news.  Yes, a heavy dose of rain does not make the drought go away.  In Colorado we got the torrential rains in September but the drought never went away- just a short reprise.  SE colorado is still in exceptional drought.  It takes a lot of moisture to hydrate a parch landscape.  Typically a drought creates conditions where heavy rains just run off with little seeping into the ground.  Pineapple express looks to continue but might be more northerly Colorado.  And the pass is open so not going to work is out tomorrow 

[Blicj11]

We now have 4 feet on the ground, the last two of which came this weekend and are very wet and heavy! Very hard to move. Kind of like me.

[Randall75]

Hi Edouard
 The last 10 inches we just got was the wettest of it all I could hardly plow it had to move it with a 3rd of the blade it was so wet but it is winter here

[elagache]

Dear Jeff, Blick, Randall, and WeatherCat climate watchers,

Well the storm has finally blown through.  The final rain total is: 5.54 inches (141mm).  We definitely need a break so the storm track moving North is needed.  Unfortunately, the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center continues to predict lower than normal rainfall for California:



The computer models are reforming the high-pressure ridge in the Pacific.  However, that ridge isn't as strong as before.  Right now we have a slight chance of rain for Thursday and the weekend.  Right now what we need is continued rain but of a light variety.  California needs some time to recover!

Cheers, Edouard 

[HantaYo]

The final rain total is: 5.54 inches (141mm).

Praise the Rain Gods  and snow  Gods  Still snowing and in an hour I start up the snow blower again.  Might have to make a gas run for the blower- its running low. 

Their modeling more snow for Colorado mid-week but it might take a more northerly track with the high ridge developing.

[Blicj11]

National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center

Edouard:

Thanks for this link. Hadn't seen this one before and I always (well, almost always) enjoy learning something new.

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat climate watchers,

Alas we are dry once more.  There was a chance of rain for this morning, but it failed to materialize.  Still we are supposed to get some rain Saturday night and some more Tuesday.  Although both storms are expected to be fairly weak.  The high-pressure remains a formidable obstacle.

Still, got to take what good news we can get.  For the first time this rainy season, we are seeing:



Sure is nice to see something other than parched dry soil around here!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Definitely not the eating variety of mushrooms, although this should be good news for those types as well!