It’s raining!

[TheThan]

So out here at G.I. Joe headquarters, we’ve been in drought for a bit over a year now.
But now it’s raining, been raining for a couple of hours and honestly, it’s fantastic. It’s been crazy; half the USA has been flooded out but out here, dry as a bone.
We need the rain, G.I Joe headquarters is in a rural area and the farmers need the rain, since they’re not getting much help from the state. So this is really important, I just hope the rain continues throughout the rest of fall and winter.

on a more personal note, I like the rain, it's soothing and cool and I like the sound of it splattering against things.

[Hbgplayer]

Other than the fact that I was caught in the open that the beginning of an hour of torrential downpour, I loved the rain this morning. Luckily I thought ahead and wore a rain coat before leaving to get coffee, but my pants still got soaked, and then I had to walk half-way across the campus I work on to respond to a call. :smallannoyed:

[Killer Angel]

I'm a geologist, and when it's raining really hard, and there are dangers for landslides or floods, at that point I often spend the whole day in the open...

[sktarq]

We very much needed the rain in my neck of the woods. The farmers in my hometown (about 45 min away) were really having problems. Even a second downpour this afternoon was really nice.

[Gwynfrid]

We had our first little flurry of snow here today :smallbiggrin:

Still, I can empathize with parched California. Drought is bad, maybe worse than flood. Wishing you guys all the rain possible, even though I hear the people in the Giants parade would have prefered it to wait another day...

[Vaynor]

Last night it finally rained here in Central California. It was a bit unfortunate for all the Trick-or-Treaters last night (we got one especially dour-looking child that was wearing a raincoat over his costume), but hopefully this means the drought will let up a bit.

[Bulldog Psion]

Had some snow here the other night. I didn't actually see it fall, but my minivan was crusted with it, and I saw it on other cars, when I went out on a midnight errand.

It was blowing like crazy from the north, and there's one place where the road runs right along Lake Superior's shore. It was rather an alarming prospect, in the dim yellowish glow of a few street lights, to see raging, boiling mountains of black water thundering up almost to the road and sending fountains of spray across it before sluicing back in writhing, icy chaos into the darkness. Made even me, a hardened Wisconsinite, shiver.

[TheThan]

Last night it finally rained here in Central California. It was a bit unfortunate for all the Trick-or-Treaters last night (we got one especially dour-looking child that was wearing a raincoat over his costume), but hopefully this means the drought will let up a bit.

Here's hoping it lets up. the fight for water has gotten pretty fierce around here.

[Yora]

We had our first little flurry of snow here today :smallbiggrin:

Funny, we had nice warm 25C here today. The warmest 1st of November ever.

[Taet]

What a wonderful soak it was. It was the first time in months that digging was possible. I dug out the last of the slippery carrot weeds. I have no idea what they are but they are carroty and slippery. And for other slippery things I am glad I swept the hackberry seeds off the sidewalk a few days ago. It was a walk on a pachinko board already. I cannot imagine what it was going to be like in the rain. :smalleek:

[TheThan]

It rained all night and most of the day today. Forecast calls for mostly sunny skies tomorrow. sort of a bummer, I was hoping for more rain.

[Crow]

So out here at G.I. Joe headquarters, we’ve been in drought for a bit over a year now.
But now it’s raining, been raining for a couple of hours and honestly, it’s fantastic. It’s been crazy; half the USA has been flooded out but out here, dry as a bone.
We need the rain, G.I Joe headquarters is in a rural area and the farmers need the rain, since they’re not getting much help from the state. So this is really important, I just hope the rain continues throughout the rest of fall and winter.

on a more personal note, I like the rain, it's soothing and cool and I like the sound of it splattering against things.

GI Joe Headquarters must be really close to The Crow's Nest, because we got a crap ton of rain about the same time, and we needed it really badly. Farmers are hurting and residential wells are going dry.

[TheThan]

GI Joe Headquarters must be really close to The Crow's Nest, because we got a crap ton of rain about the same time, and we needed it really badly. Farmers are hurting and residential wells are going dry.

That could be a possibility.
*shifty eyes*


anyway it's been a nice cool day, sunny skies though.

[Remmirath]

I'm reasonably fond of rain, but we've been having an extremely wet year (you people in need of rain, you are welcome to some of ours). I'm just glad we finally got our basement fixed so that it doesn't leak any more, because otherwise I'd've been spending an uncomfortably large percentage of the year mopping out the basement.

It snowed a bit on Halloween, although not enough to stick, and the earlier half of the day was plagued by a consistent drizzle of freezing rain. Supposedly there's a chance of rain this entire week, although it may turn to snow later in the week.

[Palanan]

Yesterday was classic November--a dull grey overcast, spattery showers and a damp, buffeting wind straight from the north. I haven't seen the ocean up so high since the last hurricane, the waves frothing right at the edge of the dunes. The wind was gusting hard by late afternoon, whipping the last of the blackgum leaves and setting the tall pines to swaying.

The wind and clouds were from the north all night, and it was damp and cloyingly cold this morning; but the wind subsided by degrees and the clouds began to break up by mid-afternoon. Clear and dark with resurgent winds tonight.

We had a cold, rainy, perpetually overcast spring this year--or rather we had no spring at all, the winter trailing on and on, and a strangely mild and confused summer. An overabundance of rain early on, and then bare sun all too often in later summer and early fall. Our situation was nowhere near as dire as California's, but we still needed this last bit of rain.

[dehro]

I'm a geologist, and when it's raining really hard, and there are dangers for landslides or floods, at that point I often spend the whole day in the open...

you realise why italian geologists will forever be associated with comic artists in my mind, right?

on a separate note, 2 days ago I took the bags of carton and paper I was supposed to bring to the dumping ground out of the car because I was picking up someone and needed the car to look decent... and I put them back in the garden, 20 minutes later it started to rain and it has yet to stop... now I have bags full of mudpaper and carton-pap.. and no idea how to take them to the dumping ground without ruining the interiors of my car

[Brother Oni]

As someone who's experienced multiple monsoon seasons (I once landed ~2 hours before a typhoon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Vicente_(2012)) hit Hong Kong) and who lives in the UK, you're more than welcome to some of our rain.

[Yora]

you realise why italian geologists will forever be associated with comic artists in my mind, right?

on a separate note, 2 days ago I took the bags of carton and paper I was supposed to bring to the dumping ground out of the car because I was picking up someone and needed the car to look decent... and I put them back in the garden, 20 minutes later it started to rain and it has yet to stop... now I have bags full of mudpaper and carton-pap.. and no idea how to take them to the dumping ground without ruining the interiors of my car
Desert Country Problems

[dehro]

Desert Country Problems

you'd think that, but I live in a part of Italy where rain really shouldn't surprise me (even though it'd been a while since the last rain)... my timing just sucks.

[Eldan]

Funny, we had nice warm 25C here today. The warmest 1st of November ever.

We had sun and too warm temperatures for months now. Today was the first real rain in ages. I also can't remember the last winter where we had any proper amount of snow, at best we get a light dusting in February.

[Hbgplayer]

And now we have pleasantly warm (70's, lower 80's), sunny days again for the foreseeable future. :smallfrown:

[Traab]

We have been getting light rain on an off every couple days for the last week or two. The annoying part was, I had to mow my lawn one final time, but the grass never got the chance to fully dry before the next rain squall came in. Same for my air conditioners. I just got the last one taken out of the windows, because the dang things get full of rain water and make an awful mess if I dont wait for a full day of decent weather first. Its actually excellent weather for the time of year. Not so much rain that anything floods, but enough rain so things get watered. And halloween was a rain free night for us, too bad noone trick or treats anymore. We only got one group that showed up and they were family coming by to show off the little kids costumes (Surprise surprise, three girls, three Frozen costumes)

[TheThan]

Yeah, there’s this big “super storm” up in Alaska that’s supposed to push rainy weather across almost the entirety of North America, except for where I live. It’s total ballz.

Air quality is so bad here it almost looks like fog… but it’s not…

:smallsigh: I need to move.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by TheThan
Air quality is so bad here it almost looks like fog… but it’s not…

And then there's that fungal-spore infection, coccidioidomycosis or "Valley Fever," which has been more prevalent here lately. A relative of mine was diagnosed with that--it can be pretty awful.

[Vaynor]

I know a few people who have been diagnosed with Asthma since moving here, too.

[Bloody Peasant!]

Here in Milwaukee it must have rained for 2/3 of the summer at least. Never went a week without a rainstorm, and some weeks it rained every day. But then I suppose that's to be expected when you're on the great lakes and you've got a perpetual humidity of >70%. Fall's been rainy too. This last winter was consistently snowy as well, which was a saving grace given how damn cold it was; must have been at least 10 days below -10. Got to love the North. :P

[Bulldog Psion]

We're in the depths of winter storm where I am. I had to go out twice today, too, despite working as a freelance writer. The first time they hadn't plowed yet and there was about 6 inches of snow on the road, with slippery ruts in it and cars sliding all over the place.

The second time, they were out plowing, anyway, but I still had to brush my windows off every time I got back into the car after stopping somewhere.

[Bloody Peasant!]

We're in the depths of winter storm where I am. I had to go out twice today, too, despite working as a freelance writer. The first time they hadn't plowed yet and there was about 6 inches of snow on the road, with slippery ruts in it and cars sliding all over the place.

The second time, they were out plowing, anyway, but I still had to brush my windows off every time I got back into the car after stopping somewhere.

Jesus, it's that bad for you guys already? (you're up north I take it) And to think I was pissed off since we might get a couple inches in the next few days, hah. But still, I envy you guys- our winters can be damn disappointing down here. Kind of makes me wish I had gone to Superior for university instead of staying in the city, but eh, what can you do?

[Bulldog Psion]

Jesus, it's that bad for you guys already? (you're up north I take it) And to think I was pissed off since we might get a couple inches in the next few days, hah. But still, I envy you guys- our winters can be damn disappointing down here. Kind of makes me wish I had gone to Superior for university instead of staying in the city, but eh, what can you do?

Yes, though I think it has stopped snowing. There's about 8 to 9 inches of wet, heavy snow, total. The wind sounds like a freight train going through the sky, and feels a lot like it when you step outside and it hits you, too.

And yes, I'm up north. I could walk down the street and fall in Lake Superior at the end of it. :smallsmile:

[Bloody Peasant!]

I could do the same for Lake Michigan; she may be frigid most of the year but Superior's a cruel mistress in comparison. I spent a weekend in Duluth in the middle of February back in high school and it made home feel like the tropics. :smallbiggrin:

[Bulldog Psion]

I could do the same for Lake Michigan; she may be frigid most of the year but Superior's a cruel mistress in comparison. I spent a weekend in Duluth in the middle of February back in high school and it made home feel like the tropics. :smallbiggrin:

Yes, Duluth in February can sometimes make polar bears buy tickets for Miami. :smallbiggrin:

So what's it like at the moment down in balmy southern Wis.? My view that way is obscured by immense snowdrifts at the moment.

(Okay, they're not that big, but I've still got to dig through a 2 foot ridge of massively compacted snow thrown up by the plow before I can get my minivan out of the driveway. I'm thinking of using dynamite.)

[TheThan]

Well the weather channel is reporting 20% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow.
I’m hoping it does, we need a good downpour to wash the crap out of the air. It's been cool and overcast but not rainy.

I heard on the news it’s supposed to be close to freezing as far south (and east) as Atlanta. Now I’m imagining gators with scarf’s wrapped around their necks.

[Palanan]

I'm in Virginia and it's not nearly that cold out here. I just came back from an evening walk in shorts and a sweatshirt.

We had a dense, gorgeous fog this morning; on the beach you could barely see the ocean, and the dunes only hazy shapes. By midmorning it swept off with surprising speed, with a brilliant clear fall sky until sunset.

[Cuthalion]

If it doesn't rain tomorrow...

[TheThan]

I'm in Virginia and it's not nearly that cold out here. I just came back from an evening walk in shorts and a sweatshirt.

We had a dense, gorgeous fog this morning; on the beach you could barely see the ocean, and the dunes only hazy shapes. By midmorning it swept off with surprising speed, with a brilliant clear fall sky until sunset.

I'm not 100% sure that's what they said. I was walking by when they were giving the national weather bit so i just caught a tidbit.

[Bloody Peasant!]

Yes, Duluth in February can sometimes make polar bears buy tickets for Miami. :smallbiggrin:

So what's it like at the moment down in balmy southern Wis.? My view that way is obscured by immense snowdrifts at the moment.

(Okay, they're not that big, but I've still got to dig through a 2 foot ridge of massively compacted snow thrown up by the plow before I can get my minivan out of the driveway. I'm thinking of using dynamite.)

Not much snow thus far (and none of it's stuck) but the temperature's plummeted in the last two days. Monday it was a pleasant breezy 55 most of the day, and since then it's dropped down to 25-30 during the day, with the nights at <20 and windy as all hell. I was in a class a mile away from my apartment when the temperature shifted and I had to bike back against the wind at 25 degrees wearing a light sweater and no gloves. :smallannoyed:

It doesn't look like it's warming up either. I guess winter came without warning this year.

[Cuthalion]

Well, 0.4 inches is 0.4 inches.

[Palanan]

Half an inch is pretty good if you're starving for rain.

[Taet]

And it was just that far behind the last rain. It soaked in and did not run off. Maybe soon the house will not even stop sinking down and I will be able to lock the door bolt and not fight with it for a full minute first.

Oh Bloody Peasant, how are your fingers doing? Please let me get a cup of tea for holding and warming your fingers. :smallfrown: I hope you at least found plastic bags to wrap your hands in for that ride.

[Bulldog Psion]

I was in a class a mile away from my apartment when the temperature shifted and I had to bike back against the wind at 25 degrees wearing a light sweater and no gloves. :smallannoyed:

It doesn't look like it's warming up either. I guess winter came without warning this year.

Dang -- sorry to hear you were away from the apartment when that hit. Facing winter weather with light clothing is no joke. :smallfrown:

Winter did seem to come without warning. One day it was relatively pleasant and warmish here, at least enough to make walking enjoyable. The next, buckets of snow, and cold as anything. I see why they call this a "bomb cyclone."

[Bloody Peasant!]

Thanks guys. I had to soak them for a while but I got over within fifteen minutes or so. I was able to minimize exposure by alternating putting each hand into my pocket and biking one-handed, so it wasn't too bad.

I'm not complaining about the winter, though I do wish fall lasted a little longer, since we really got a beautiful one this year unlike the last couple which were respectively very brown and very green. I just hope we get some snow on the ground soon; nothing's worse than cold weather without snow IMO.

[TheThan]

I awoke to rain today.

I know everyone else is probably sick and tired of the cold, rain and snow.

But for us it's a breath of fresh air (literally). It really is an amazing feeling. when you're starving for rain and boom rain.

[Bloody Peasant!]

I awoke to rain today.

I know everyone else is probably sick and tired of the cold, rain and snow.

But for us it's a breath of fresh air (literally). It really is an amazing feeling. when you're starving for rain and boom rain.

Hey, I'm happy for you. There's nothing like rain, and especially after a drought it can be a really amazing feeling. I can't imagine living somewhere dry frankly, so good for you when you get it!

[Gwynfrid]

I can fully relate. Nothing beats the freshness of the air in the morning just after overnight rain. I originally come from a place that has lots of rain, and I don't think I could live in a desert-like climate. I've been to Las Vegas a number of times, and hated how uncomfortable it can be on the eyes and throat.

[TheThan]

Yeah, you either get used to it or you move. Haha

Seriously the air quality has been awful lately. You ever live in a place that has air quality warnings? I do. It’s not cool. But the rain knocks the crap out of the air and makes it nice and breathable. So I rejoice when it rains.

It was nice enough that I spent as much of the day outside as I could.

[Gwynfrid]

You ever live in a place that has air quality warnings? I do. It’s not cool.

I used to. Paris has those in the summer sometimes. (http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2013/12/11/PHO49bae488-6283-11e3-b501-1c86e9148904-805x453.jpg) Not cool, indeed. Usually it doesn't last for more than a couple of days, fortunately. That's when a good solid summer storm is really welcome.

[Bulldog Psion]

Yeah, you either get used to it or you move. Haha

Seriously the air quality has been awful lately. You ever live in a place that has air quality warnings? I do. It’s not cool. But the rain knocks the crap out of the air and makes it nice and breathable. So I rejoice when it rains.

It was nice enough that I spent as much of the day outside as I could.

Maybe there are worse things than waking up to 10 inches of snow sometimes. :smalleek:

[TheThan]

I used to. Paris has those in the summer sometimes. (http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2013/12/11/PHO49bae488-6283-11e3-b501-1c86e9148904-805x453.jpg) Not cool, indeed. Usually it doesn't last for more than a couple of days, fortunately. That's when a good solid summer storm is really welcome.

There's nothing worse than brown skies.

i remember as a wee lad going to Disneyland and watching the fireworks under a brown sky. that's really depressing.

[Cuthalion]

Well, because of its geography, LA is basically a bowl of smog. So that's to be expected for Disneyland.

But yes, smog is not nice.

[TheThan]

Well, because of its geography, LA is basically a bowl of smog. So that's to be expected for Disneyland.

But yes, smog is not nice.

true but when you're a kid, you don't think about that sort of stuff. You just want to watch the fireworks against a black night sky.

[Starwulf]

I'm not 100% sure that's what they said. I was walking by when they were giving the national weather bit so i just caught a tidbit.

Here in Western Maryland it hasn't gotten above 40 degrees for the last 3 days, and it's about 25 degrees right now, probably end up as low as 22 before daybreak. It's going to be coldest come Tuesday, going to sink as low as 18 degrees ><

[Bulldog Psion]

I see your 18 degrees and raise you a frigid 8 degrees. :smallbiggrin:

Edit: with a wind. Can't forget the wind.

[Palanan]

Gah.

It was 71 degrees here yesterday afternoon, 40 degrees this morning. It'll be 27-ish tonight.

I know, I know, northerners laugh at this. But for us southern folk that's plenty cold.

[Cuthalion]

I like how the Californian thread got invaded by a bunch of complaining Easterners.

On that note, rain for the next four days? One can only hope.

[TheThan]

Haha, yeah.

Anyway looking forward to the potential for rain this week.

[TheThan]

Hate to double post but it started raining about 10 minutes ago. hurray!

It's not coming down hard or anything, but we can use all the rain we can get.

[edit]
looks like it's stopped.... for now...
*dun dun dunnnn!*

[Cuthalion]

Apparently we've only gotten .11 inches of rain. Ah well. Tomorrow is a bright new dark cloudy day.

[Gwynfrid]

If you're thirsty in California, I hear there are people in Buffalo who'd like to lend you some of their snow. How about 2 feet? That will leave them with 3 1/2 left, more than enough for their needs.

(Seriously, that's crazy snow they've been getting down there.)

[Starwulf]

If you're thirsty in California, I hear there are people in Buffalo who'd like to lend you some of their snow. How about 2 feet? That will leave them with 3 1/2 left, more than enough for their needs.

(Seriously, that's crazy snow they've been getting down there.)

What's even more messed up is apparently they are going to get another 2-3 feet either later today/tonight or tomorrow, at least according to the news I just listened to. That's absolutely insane if you ask me. 8-9 feet of snow >< Me and my wife were looking at some pictures posted up, one was a pic of a guy in his house with his entire door caved in and laying on the floor due to the pressure of the snow. Another was of someone tunneling through the top of the snow at the very top of their door so they could possibly get out.

[Hbgplayer]

:thog:it's raining!
It's raining pretty good 'round these parts, and should be for the next couple days. :smallsmile:

On a side note, I'm glad I live on the West coast now and not being blanketed by snow.

[Cuthalion]

We just got a relatively solid hour or two of rain. :smallsmile:

[Jeff the Green]

As someone who's experienced multiple monsoon seasons (I once landed ~2 hours before a typhoon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Vicente_(2012)) hit Hong Kong) and who lives in the UK, you're more than welcome to some of our rain.

Likewise ours. Okay, technically we're in a drought too, but a drought in the Willamette Valley still leaves us a rainforest.

Actually, I was really glad for the overcast we've had today. It had been bright and unseasonably cold, and that's an aspect of weather I don't do well in.

[TheThan]

so it started raining at about 6AM AM or so. and it still is.
So I'm glad.

[Taet]

I am glad Weather West blog put that warning up yesterday. I was going to have been ten miles away on the bike when this started. :smalleek:

[Hbgplayer]

We've sure gotten one heck of a soaker over the last 24 hours! In one city, unofficial measurements (http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3196963-181/heavy-rain-causes-flooding-slows?page=0) reported 1.67 inches in from 0700 yesterday to 0700 this morning. Edit: Holy cow! I just read further down the article and saw that the area around my house got 3 inches! :smalleek:
Yes, we are desperate for the water, but I for one don't want it all in one storm that causes as many problems as this storm seems to be causing. And I would have liked it to pour at a time that I didn't have to work out in the middle of it.

[TheThan]

it sprinkled a little bit today. didn't expect it and was caught outside without my rain hat.

I'm not complaining about any rain, but it would have been nice to have mah hat.

[Cuthalion]

That was a nice storm, and it's supposed to rain more this afternoon. Yay! :smallbiggrin:

[PallElendro]

There's grass growing in my backyard again, at the city limit of Pinole to Hercules, at my school. Feels good, man.

[Jada Masters]

Currently in Manila for a convention and the weather here is not good. I heard it's much worst in other areas but from where I'm staying at dark clouds all day, strong winds and rainfall. Typhoon Ruby is what I see all day in the news.

[Eldan]

First snow of the year. Just a light dusting, really, but it's still been ages since I've seen snow before Christmas.

[PallElendro]

Hercules is getting a massive rain storm today. Had to shut down Contra Costa schools.

[Bulldog Psion]

Looks like the storms are coming ashore there in California like the wrath of Vogan. :smalleek: There's drought relief, and then there's 70 mph winds, mudslides, and deep snows in the mountains ... :smalleek:

[Taet]

Deep snows in the mountains is very good!!!!!!!!!!! The deep snows need to stay there over the winter. Deep snows are saved water for later. The ground is not even full yet. The creeks here look nice but i twas three inches deep maybe int he best parts. There is room for at least a foot more.

But then where is the rain to the mountains yet. It has only rained for half an hour here and this is very flat land.

And Pallendro yes we all kind of forgot what natural green looked like for awhile. :smalleek:

[Hbgplayer]

So people are kayaking downtown (http://youtu.be/blEEb-ttaow) in my town.
We need the rain, but this is ridiculous.

[TheThan]

So people are kayaking downtown (http://youtu.be/blEEb-ttaow) in my town.
We need the rain, but this is ridiculous.

it's water, so I'm not complaining. Sucks to have your house flooded out though.

Anyway that same storm should eventually hit me (i think tonight) if it doesn't burn itself out flooding everywhere else first.

[Taet]

So people are kayaking downtown (http://youtu.be/blEEb-ttaow) in my town.
We need the rain, but this is ridiculous.
Wait.

Is that. Did they sandbag the entrance to the store with bottled water?
http://33.media.tumblr.com/83c6c46350253bb29fcc6e5b92625a66/tumblr_ngfqnvBIzp1t1xni5o1_1280.png

[Hbgplayer]

it's water, so I'm not complaining. Sucks to have your house flooded out though.

Anyway that same storm should eventually hit me (i think tonight) if it doesn't burn itself out flooding everywhere else first.

Luckily I live south of town and my house want flooded. It was a good thing my car has 4-wheel drive though.


Wait.

Is that. Did they sandbag the entrance to the store with bottled water?
http://33.media.tumblr.com/83c6c46350253bb29fcc6e5b92625a66/tumblr_ngfqnvBIzp1t1xni5o1_1280.png

LOL, yes they did. I'm totally stealing that meme too.

[Cuthalion]

Wait.

Is that. Did they sandbag the entrance to the store with bottled water?
http://33.media.tumblr.com/83c6c46350253bb29fcc6e5b92625a66/tumblr_ngfqnvBIzp1t1xni5o1_1280.png

Oh man that's priceless. xD


But yes rain. The canal in town that is normally barely there was apparently two thirds full. There was flooding. All I can say is that I live on a hill.

[sktarq]

Hmmm-a tad messy this morning. Very wet, very needed. This is pretty much what I would expect around here. Waterspout warning, flashflood warning, and fire warnings in the same month.

[Starwulf]

So, the news was reporting on this storm and it said that this one storm has, by itself, reduced Cali's drought by 20%. That's....pretty freaking insane, considering how water starved you all have been.

Also, I hope you all are staying safe, with all the rock/mudslides going on there.

[TheThan]

So, the news was reporting on this storm and it said that this one storm has, by itself, reduced Cali's drought by 20%. That's....pretty freaking insane, considering how water starved you all have been.

Also, I hope you all are staying safe, with all the rock/mudslides going on there.

this storm has dropped more rain than we got all last year.
pretty gonzo.

Fortunately I'm safe and dry siting here typing on my computer.

The forecast said it looks like it's going to drive really far inland before it tires out. Like reaching over the Rockies far. They're also saying there's another one inbound on the heels of this one.

All I can say is that it's amazing to see so much water after nearly two years of dry weather.

[Bulldog Psion]

Let's hope the next one is a couple days out so that the existing rain has time to soak in and get absorbed into the water table, etc. Otherwise, diminishing returns are going to set in fast as more and more runs off.

[sktarq]

Let's hope the next one is a couple days out so that the existing rain has time to soak in and get absorbed into the water table, etc. Otherwise, diminishing returns are going to set in fast as more and more runs off.

As the local streams were either puddles or barely moving this morning I'd say that my area at least was try enough to have already absorbed it.

[Bulldog Psion]

As the local streams were either puddles or barely moving this morning I'd say that my area at least was try enough to have already absorbed it.

Wow. That is rather alarming. :smalleek:

[Scarlet Knight]

My prayers are with you Californians.

For 25 years my house stayed dry and rain was soothing to me. Then came Irene & Sandy and now I am paranoid about storms and can't sleep.

[TheThan]

Wow. That is rather alarming. :smalleek:

the ground is so dry it's like a sponge, just waiting for some water to suck up.


My prayers are with you Californians.

For 25 years my house stayed dry and rain was soothing to me. Then came Irene & Sandy and now I am paranoid about storms and can't sleep.

Thanks this state needs it.

It’s hard for me to imagine the sort of flooding you see on the news, houses being swept away and flooded to the rafters with water. It’s just amazing to me.

[Bulldog Psion]

Great zigzagging zeuglodons -- it looks like you chaps out there got a tornado in Los Angeles! :smalleek:

It's a mild, small one by Midwestern standards, of course, but it looks like it was enough to take off a roof or two and damage about 5 homes when it struck, according to the news (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-tornado-winds-storm-20141212-story.html).

That's pretty startling. From what I understood, earthquakes are a hazard in California, but tornadoes are pretty much unknown. I'd imagine dust devils are plentiful in Death Valley, but an honest-to-Pelor tornado must be a super-extraordinary event.

[sktarq]

Great zigzagging zeuglodons -- it looks like you chaps out there got a tornado in Los Angeles! :smalleek:

It's a mild, small one by Midwestern standards, of course, but it looks like it was enough to take off a roof or two and damage about 5 homes when it struck, according to the news (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-tornado-winds-storm-20141212-story.html).

That's pretty startling. From what I understood, earthquakes are a hazard in California, but tornadoes are pretty much unknown. I'd imagine dust devils are plentiful in Death Valley, but an honest-to-Pelor tornado must be a super-extraordinary event.

Not really. In my part of the state we get Waterspout in channel (between the mainland and offshore islands). We get a fair number in the central valley. . . Not as bad as tornado alley but are a decent part of the building code. When I worked for an architect I was rather astonished to find that tornado planning regulations were more strict here than nebraska at the time. One in the LA basin is rather odd though-but happens every few years.

[PallElendro]

It's been raining every evening in Contra Costa. Puts me right to sleep, but holy crap, the grass is greener on every side.

[Bulldog Psion]

According to analysis of ground surface changes and gravitational data from satellites, NASA says that 11 trillion more gallons of water are needed to break the drought -- so this is a good start, but it'll take years of heavy rainstorms to complete the process. :smalleek:

(The reason I'm interested in this even though I don't live there is that 1. I'm interested in meteorology only a little less than geography, history, and paleontology, and 2. I was thinking of trying to move to CA at some point.)

[TheThan]

According to analysis of ground surface changes and gravitational data from satellites, NASA says that 11 trillion more gallons of water are needed to break the drought -- so this is a good start, but it'll take years of heavy rainstorms to complete the process. :smalleek:

(The reason I'm interested in this even though I don't live there is that 1. I'm interested in meteorology only a little less than geography, history, and paleontology, and 2. I was thinking of trying to move to CA at some point.)

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[sktarq]

According to analysis of ground surface changes and gravitational data from satellites, NASA says that 11 trillion more gallons of water..., but it'll take years of heavy rainstorms to complete the process. :smalleek:

(The reason I'm interested in this even though I don't live there is that 1. I'm interested in meteorology only a little less than geography, history, and paleontology, and 2. I was thinking of trying to move to CA at some point.)


Considering that in a wet year we could well get filled up in a couple months that statement is somewhat nebulous-that said we don't seem set for a seriously wet year-not a '92 or '05. If you are interested in California weather systems all the UC's have decent stuff on this. Much of which should be online now. Davis for hydrology, Berkeley for paleo (while UCLA also is pretty good I've worked with both and the UCLA's program is just swamped half the time with stuff from a couple warehouses (from Tar seeps and rules like Orange counties rule to have an on site paleo/archeology monitor on ever major build site) to be as useful. Meteorology I'm less sure of but would start with UCSD and Davis for research purposes.

[Taet]

According to analysis of ground surface changes and gravitational data from satellites, NASA says that 11 trillion more gallons of water are needed to break the drought -- so this is a good start, but it'll take years of heavy rainstorms to complete the process. :smalleek:

(The reason I'm interested in this even though I don't live there is that 1. I'm interested in meteorology only a little less than geography, history, and paleontology, and 2. I was thinking of trying to move to CA at some point.)
I cannot properly think about that many gallons. And I can think in gallons. BBC put it into metric. In cubic kilometers. Cubes of water. A kilometer every which way. And we need dozens of THOSE. :smalleek:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30510263

[sktarq]

Acre-feet is probably the most useful measure I've found for mental arithmetic for large amounts of water-I don't know the metric equivilant for our non-american forum-ites. . . The amount of water needed to cover one acre (as opposed to a hectacre that is the basic unit of measure here) to the depth of about 30cm)

[Bulldog Psion]

Acre-feet is probably the most useful measure I've found for mental arithmetic for large amounts of water-I don't know the metric equivilant for our non-american forum-ites. . . The amount of water needed to cover one acre (as opposed to a hectacre that is the basic unit of measure here) to the depth of about 30cm)

Time for a little simple math here. :smallsmile:

California contains 101 million acres.

If we assume that the water needs to be distributed evenly over the surface of the state, which is actually inaccurate because of areas like Death Valley, etc., then 108,910 gallons are needed per acre.

Plugging this into the gallons to acre-feet formula gives us ...

0.334 feet per acre, or a water depth of 4 inches, or 10 centimeters, over the whole state.

It's not actually that much when you look at it that way. Of course, if it actually needs to be distributed to half the state, that ups it 8 inches/20 centimeters; if it needs to be on 1/4 of the state, that makes the required rainfall 16 inches/40 cm, etc.