Just curious...
Are the projected rainfall amounts for this storm actually less than the previous storms that have hit California this year?
And also, isn’t this the time of year when California wants rain in order to replenish the aquifier and the reservoirs? Or are they still full from the previous storms?
CA reservoirs = mostly full!
We are weather wimps out here. The numbers do not sound all that dramatic, but lots of places in CA can flood if those small numbers of inches of rain fall within a narrow-enough time period.
And having lived through a flood and knowing how completely it will ruin your life, I’m not making light of it.
Water runs downhill out here and there is a lot of downhill....
In the Bay Area, we get 100% of our rain in 6 months, Nov to May, give or take. San Jose was off to a great start through December, but it’s been dry since then. SJ was at 60% of normal at the beginning of the week, so this storm is helping. It was originally going to end on Weds, but another one is stacked up, so that is good news.
There is a misconception that California receives water supplies from rain. Most rainfall runs off into rivers or soaks into the ground. The majority of California's water needs comes from snowfall in the Sierra Nevada Range and right now it is at over 200% of normal snowpack. Another two feet fell yesterday and more is on the way.