Rain: Heavy Rain (April 24-25, 2015)

On the night of April 24 and into the following morning we had a short but heavy rain that has perked up the plants again--a very welcome turn of events. On the morning of the 25th I found 1.26 inches in the rain gauge--which seems like more than there should have been. The official Santa Rosa rainfall was about 0.4 inches. I'm not sure why we'd have had three times as much, although rain can very quite a lot locally. Alternatively, there may have been some water left in the gauge from a hose that I was unaware of--although that's never happened before. We had had an even 24 inches of rain so far this year before the recent rain. If the gauge is correct, that would bring our local total to 25.26 inches. Using the official Santa Rosa figure would make it 24.40 inches. That is well below normal in either case. In the short term, however, the rain will allow us to leave irrigation turned off for another week or so--which is a good thing.

Rain: Morning Showers and More to Come (April 5-7, 2015)

Early morning rain on the 5th added 0.20 inches to our total for the year. Not much, but better than nothing. The forecast is for possibly rain today (the 6th) and for thunderstorms tomorrow. Let it rain. As of the morning of April 6, our total for the 2014-2015 rain year stands at 23.10 inches, which is about ten inches below normal.

[Update: Overnight and into the morning of April 7, we got heavy rain, but the predicted thunderstorms didn't materialize. Nevertheless, we got an additional--very welcome--0.90 inches of new precipitation at my location (northeast Santa Rosa). That brings the 2014-2015 total here to 24.00 inches. The weather website I monitor for historical data in Santa Rosa is reporting a total of only 21.80 inches. That station has received 0.6 inches of rain so far in the first seven days of April, for example, while I've recorded 1.1 inches during the same period. The historical average for April 6 is 32.67 inches, according to that site. So, we're still 8.67-10.87 inches below average this year. The forecast is still noting the possibility of thunderstorms (and hail) later in the day.]

Rain: Unexpected Overnight Rain (March 21-23, 2015)

We had showers in the early morning hours last night--showers that I don't remember being in the forecast. We got 0.15 inches, which is hardly enough to make much of a difference, but better than nothing. That brings the total for the 2014-2015 rain year (which ends on June 30, 2015) to 22.90 inches at this location (other Santa Rosa locations have reported closer to 21 inches for the season). In either case, that's well below the historical average for this date (March 22), which is 30.88 inches.

[Update: More rain overnight on the March 22 - March 23 gave us an additional 0.25 inches, bringing our total to 23.15 inches.]

Rain: New Storm Brings Long-awaited Rain (February 6-9, 2015)

After a January with virtually no rain, it's good to be in the middle of a substantial storm that's already dropped about an inch and a half of new rain since early in the morning of the 6th. I'll wait until the storm has passed to add to the tally, but predictions range from between three to six inches. Every drop is welcome.

[Update: On the morning of the 7th, I found 2.25 inches in the rain gauge. That brings our total for the 2014-2015 rain year to 21.40 inches. It's clear again now, but more rain is on the way....]

[Update: On the morning of the 9th, there was another 1.35 inches in the rain gauge, bringing the total to 22.75 inches. Average for this date is about 22.5 inches.]

Rain: A Little Drizzle

Drizzle for much of the day on the 16th added 0.1 inches to our total for the current rain year. The total now stands at 19.15 inches at my location.

Rain: Yet more rain (December 15, 2014)

It rained much of last night and most of today (December 15, 2014). There's another 1.1 inches in the rain gauges this afternoon. That brings our total for the 2014-2015 rain year to 16.40 inches--now well above normal, but it's still early and we haven't by any means made up for the drought of the past two years. That said, this is good. Let it keep it up.

[Update: Another 0.2 inches overnight. Our total as of the morning of the 16th was thus 16.6 inches.]

[Update: By the morning of December 18, we had had another 1.25 inches of rain at my location, bringing our total to 17.85 inches. Right now the forecast is for more rain tomorrow and again on Saturday, December 20.]

[Yet another update: As of the evening of the 19th, we had received another 0.85 inches. Total now stands at 18.70 inches.]

[There's more: As of the 21st, we'd added another 0.35 inches. It just keeps raining--which is great. We need it. People are even beginning to get tired of it. Total is now 19.05 inches at my location.]

Rain: Storm Rolling In (December 10, 2014)

A predicted storm has moved into the area and we've had heavy rain now for the past couple of hours. It's supposed to last all night and into the late afternoon tomorrow. So far, we've received 1.25 inches of new precipitation. I emptied the rain gauge to help ensure it doesn't overflow overnight--that would now require six more inches of rain, which seems unlikely. As of 10:00PM on the 10th, our total for the 2014-2015 rain year was 9.45 inches, well above normal, but it's early. It's not unusual to have a lot of rain in December and then to return to droughty conditions later in the season. More tomorrow.

[Update: Checking the rain gauge this morning, we have had another three inches of rain overnight. It's still coming down and moderately strong winds buffeted the house all night, but I've seen worse. As of 7:30AM, December 11, our total for the year had risen to 12.45 inches. More later.]

[Update: Twelve hours later (7:30PM on December 11) we've had another 1.65 inches, bringing the total to 14.10 inches for the rain year--now well above normal for this date, but, again, we'll have to see if this becomes part of a sustained trend or proves to be just a one-off string of storms. In any case, the rain is good. Nobody's complaining about it yet.]

[Update: In a lull now, but we had another 0.85 inches overnight on the 11th and the morning of the 12th. Total now (mid-afternoon on the 12th) stands at 14.95 inches.]

Rain: Another 0.85 inches

Although it was clear today (December 6, 2014), off-and-on rain in the past couple of days has added another 0.85 inches to our annual total. We now stand at 8.20 inches at my location for the 2014-2015 rain year, which is a little more than an inch ahead of normal for this date in Santa Rosa.

Rain: More Rain (December 2, 2014)

More rain overnight and today so far, as predicted. There was a new 0.75 inches in the rain gauge when I checked it this morning, but it's rained more since then. I hope it keeps going. It looks like this  group of storms will at least bring us up to normal for the current rain year, which began on July 1, 2014 and ends on June 30 2015. The average for this date (December 2) historically is 6.02 inches in Santa Rosa. The more the merrier, though, as we have a substantial cumulative deficit from the past couple of years when rainfall was markedly lower than average.

[Update: As of the evening of the 3rd, we had received 1.5 inches of new rain since reporting the 0.75 inches mentioned above, so a total of 2.25 inches of new rain. That brings our total for the year as of today to 7.35 inches--slightly above average now for the first time this rain year.]

Rain: Much Rain in the Forecast

It's been misting all night and, as I looked out my studio window this morning, a brief, full-on downpour began. How long it will last, I don't know, but there's rain in the forecast for the entire coming week--rain we desperately need. I'm hoping to go to the Santa Rosa Farmer's Market this morning, but I'm happy to have the rain. No complaints. Looking a the rain gauge this morning after the skies cleared, we seem to have had 0.85 inches overnight and in the morning. That brings our total for the 2014-2015 rain year to 4.25 inches--still woefully low, but it was good to get nearly an inch, and more is supposed to be on the way.

[Update: We had more rain (an additional 0.5 inches) overnight on the 29th-30th, bringing the total so far this rain year to 4.75 inches. Later on the 30th, more light rain added 0.35 inches, for a total of 5.10 inches this rain year. Clear today (December 1) but more rain is expected in the next three days.]

Rain: Rain Yesterday and Today is Helping a Little (November 20, 2014)

Rain yesterday and continuing today after a short lull is bringing some relief to the landscape. We've accumulated about an inch in the past 24 hours, but it's still coming down--which is a good thing. We are about 8 inches below normal for the year and have a cumulative deficit of something like 30 inches over the past three years, so everything helps. As of 11AM on November 20 we have had 1.25 inches of rain  in the past couple of days, bringing the total at my location so far in the 2014-2015 rain year (which extends from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015) to 2.95 inches.

[Update: More rain on the evening of the 21st and into the morning of the 22nd has added 0.45 inches of rain, bringing the season total now to 3.40 inches--still well below normal, but every little bit helps.]

Rain: Finally a Little Rain (October 25, 2014)

Finally--a little rain. Too little, unfortunately, but at least a momentary downpour. It's been raining on and off all day, actually. I just checked the rain gauge and was pleased to find 0.5 inches there. That brings our total so far for the 2014-2015 rain season to 1.45 inches. It's a start.

[Update: On Friday, the 31st, we had another 0.25 inches, bringing the total to 1.70 inches.]

Rain: Drizzle

Overnight we had a light rain. Rain is good, but it was hardly enough to make any difference. I found only 0.1 inches in the rain gauge this morning. That brings our total for the 2014-2015 rain year to 0.95 inches.

Rain: 0.1 inches on October 15

The forecast promised real rain on the night of the 14th and into the 15th, but we got only 0.1 inches, at least at my house. It's supposed to rain again at the end of the week, but the long-term forecast is for another dry winter. I miss the big three-day storms and downpours we used to get regularly in the winter months. The recent rain brings our total for the 2014-2015 rain year to 0.85 inches.

Rain: First Appreciable Rain of the Season (September 18, 2014)

There was a little rain overnight. It left 0.1 inches in the rain gauge--not a lot, but it was the first measurable rain of the 2014-2015 rain year, which began on July 1, 2014. We had traces of rain in July and, bizarrely, in August, but not enough to register. So, the 2014-2015 total stands at 0.1 inches as of today.

[Update: Still raining. So far, 0.25 inches as of 5:30PM. The following day we had another 0.3 inches and on the 26th we had yet more rain (0.20), bringing the total for the year to 0.75 inches.]