I Asked for Rain... I Got a River!
I've written twice in the past month about how it's been a dry winter so far in California. In my late December entry I explained why rain is seasonal and why winter rain is important. Well, I asked for rain... and now we're getting it. ...And not just rain but a figurative river in the sky, an "Atmospheric River", as CBS News Bay Area reported (28 Jan 2021).
Rain poured on Sunday, then again on Tuesday, and then again overnight and into this morning. We've tallied probably a few inches around my home in the past several days. What's falling as rain here is snow up in the Sierras. At high elevations they've gotten several feet already this week, with estimates up to 10 feet (3 meters) by Friday. Back down here in the valley the rain hasn't reached a point of deluge... yet. Localized flooding could come.
Over in the Santa Cruz Mountains, southwest of here between us and the Pacific Ocean, flooding and mudslides already are a real risk. That's especially true in areas burned in lightning-strike fires last August/September. Fire kills vegetation; when it rains heavily after that there's less to hold the ground together so mudslides become a danger. Moreover, fire scorches bare earth so that even if is less able to absorb rain, further raising the risks of flooding and mudslides.
Does this mean no drought, at least? Haha, no. We still need more rain to catch up to normal for the year, let alone to catch up to normal for last year & this one averaged together. We just need gradual rain!
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/24703.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
Rain poured on Sunday, then again on Tuesday, and then again overnight and into this morning. We've tallied probably a few inches around my home in the past several days. What's falling as rain here is snow up in the Sierras. At high elevations they've gotten several feet already this week, with estimates up to 10 feet (3 meters) by Friday. Back down here in the valley the rain hasn't reached a point of deluge... yet. Localized flooding could come.
Over in the Santa Cruz Mountains, southwest of here between us and the Pacific Ocean, flooding and mudslides already are a real risk. That's especially true in areas burned in lightning-strike fires last August/September. Fire kills vegetation; when it rains heavily after that there's less to hold the ground together so mudslides become a danger. Moreover, fire scorches bare earth so that even if is less able to absorb rain, further raising the risks of flooding and mudslides.
Does this mean no drought, at least? Haha, no. We still need more rain to catch up to normal for the year, let alone to catch up to normal for last year & this one averaged together. We just need gradual rain!
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/24703.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]