Rain: Another Quarter Inch in 2016-2017

We had a rare thunderstorm today. It very quickly dropped a quarter inch of rain on us. As the official rain year is now calculated from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, this new precipitation, although it feels like the start of the 2017-2018 rain year, will be credited to the preceding year. That brings our already record-breaking total for the 2016-2017 rain year to 55.55 inches at my northeast Santa Rosa location.

Rain: A Little More Rain in a Record Year

The 2016-2017 rain year ends on September 30, but we rarely get rain in June, July, or August, so, by the end of May, the annual rainfall total usually is pretty clear. This year has been unusual. We got more rain than ever before recorded in Santa Rosa since record-keeping began in the 1880s, and today we got 0.3 inches of rain in the first week of June—not unheard of, but unusual. It started late last night and it's been misting pretty much all day. That brings our total at my location in Santa Rosa to 55.30 inches and the first rain since April 19.

Rain: OK, Now I'm Sick of the Rain (April 17-19, 2017)

It's been raining again. And more rain is in the forecast—through the end of this week. Already we've had another 0.8 inches since I last reported. That brings the total at my location for the 2016-2017 rain year to 54.65 inches. This has been the wettest year on record since people began keeping records for Santa Rosa. It's nice that I don't have to water the garden, but a little sun would be pleasant now.

[Update: On the evening of the 19th it started raining again. We got an additional 0.35 inches after I wrote the above. So, we are now at 55.00 inches at my location.]

Rain: More Rain (April 12-13, 2017)

On the morning of April 13 there was yet another 0.90 inches of rain in the rain gauge. That brings the 2016-2017 rain year total at my location in northeast Santa Rosa to a fairly amazing 53.85 inches.

Rain: Record-breaker

Last night and yesterday (April 6-7, 2017) we had another 1.9 inches of rain. That raises our total for the 2016-2017 rain year to 52.25 inches at my location in northeastern Santa Rosa and makes this the third-wettest year on record since records have been kept in the county, since 1888, apparently. The official record for Santa Rosa (monitored at the Sonoma County Airport) is already at  55.51 inches, likewise the third-wettest year relative to the official total, and only about two-tenths of an inch behind second place; we're likely to move up a slot by the end of today. Another 1.5 inches in the coming weeks will be enough to put us into first place, topping 56.06 inches, set in 1889-1890.

[Update: More rain on the 8th. An additional 0.70 inches puts us at 52.95 inches moving us into second-place for wettest year on record, at my location: as noted above, the official tally for Santa Rosa already has us in first place this year.]

Rain: A Little More, for Good Measure (March 21-22, 2017)

In the past 24 hours we've had a little more rain. There was 0.80 inches in the rain gauge this morning. That brings our total for the 2016-2017 rain year at my location in northern Santa Rosa to 49.05 inches.

[Update: We got yet another inch of rain on March 23-24. So we now stand at 50.05 inches at my location. Sonoma County Airport is reporting 52.71 inches, however, which ranks 2016-2017 as the third-wettest winter on record since the 1880s, when recording began. Another 4-6 inches this year would break the record, which is 56.06 inches, set in 1889-1890. All we need is one or two more storms before the end of October.]

[Update: We got another 0.30 inches overnight on March 26-27, bringing the total to 50.35 inches at my location. The forecast is now clear for about 10 days, but who knows what April will bring?]

Rain: Another Inch (March 5, 2017)

We had more rain overnight on March 4-5. I found 0.90 inches of rain in the rain gauge this morning. That brings our total to 48.10 inches so far in the 2016-2017 rain year at my location in Northeast Santa Rosa and ranks this year as the fifth rainiest year since recording began in the 1880s—and we still have a few months to go....  We are now about 20 inches above normal.

[Update: A little more rain following this has left the total as of the morning of March 8 at 48.25 inches.]

Rain: Heading for a Record (February 15-22, 2017)

Heavy rain again on the night of February 15-16 left 1.05 inches of new rain in the rain gauge this morning. That brings our total to 42.55 inches for the 2016-2017 rain year--well above normal.

[Update: As of the evening of February 19, we'd had an additional 2.70 inches of rain. That puts us at 45.25 inches at my location in northeast Santa Rosa—and it's still raining, with rain forecast to continue tomorrow and the day after. Santa Rosa recorded 47.70 inches in 1981-1982, for the fifth-rainiest year on record since recording began, in 1888. The record is 56.06 inches, in 1889-1890. Average cumulative rainfall historically for this time of year is 24.79 inches, which means we are more than 20 inches above normal! (All historical data are from Kent's Weather Center)]

[Update: And, subsequently, another 1.95 inches (as of the morning of February 22). So, the total is now 47.20 inches at my location, by my reckoning. That would make this the sixth wettest year on record, although I don't know where the official Santa Rosa precipitation level is measured or what they are reporting. I've learned over the years that even within the city of Santa Rosa there can be a variation of a couple of inches or more. Suffice it to say that we've had A LOT of rain this year. Showers predicted for the end of the week, too.]

Rain: A Year's Worth of Rain

At the end of the day on February 7, there was yet another 3.1 inches of rain in the rain gauge. That brings the total so far to 38.65 inches at my location. A site I monitor elsewhere in Santa Rosa is reporting somewhat less, or 36.3 inches. In either case, we have now had more than our normal annual rainfall, which is a little over 36 inches, and we still have several months ahead of us in the 2016-2017 rain year (October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017). Rain is predicted for at least the next two days....

[Update: As of the afternoon of February 9, we've had another 2.85 inches of new rain. That brings our total so far to 41.50 inches at my location. And it's still raining....]

Rain: February off to a wet start (February 2, 2017)

We had the wettest January I can remember, and February is off to a wet start. We've had 0.95 inches of new precipitation this month (February) as of 5:00PM on February 2. That brings our total to 34.50 inches at my location in Santa Rosa—which is astounding, given that normal annual rainfall is about 36 inches for the entire rain year (which runs through the end of September). On top of that, rain is forecast for the next six days.

[Update: As of the afternoon of February 5, we've had another 1.05 inches of rain, bringing the total to 35.55 inches for the 2016-2017 rain year so far.]

Rain: Still More Rain (January 23, 2017)

More rain last night left another 0.50 inches of rain in the rain gauge this morning, Monday, January 23, 2017. That brings our total for the 2016-2017 rain year to 33.45 inches at my location. Considering that average annual rainfall has historically been about 36 inches in Santa Rosa, that means we've had nearly a full year of rain now with another eight months left in the rain year and at least another two months during which we're likely to have more rain (the rain year runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, but most of our rain comes between the months of November and February).

[Another 0.1 inches fell after I wrote the above, so we are at 33.55 inches. The sky is clear now and no rain is forecast until early next week.]

Rain: Yet More Rain (January 19-22, 2017)

It began raining again late yesterday and it has been raining all night, it appears. This morning I found three new inches of precipitation in the rain gauge. It's still raining, but that raises our total for the 2016-2017 rain year so far to 30.00 inches, well ahead of normal for this time of year, and more rain already than we've had in some entire years lately. Normal annual rainfall in Santa Rosa has historically been about 36 inches. This morning the sky is blue and mostly cloudless, but rain is in the forecast for the next three days.

[As of the morning of January 20, there were 4.10 inches of rain in the rain gauge, which brings the total to 31.10 inches for the current rain year. More rain on the way....]

[As of the afternoon of January 22, we had had another 1.85 inches, bringing the total to 32.95 inches at my location—and it's started pouring again.]

Rain: Almost Three More Inches (January 10-11, 2017)

It's been raining hard all day. Checking the rain gauge at 4:30PM on the 10th, we have an additional 2.60 inches of rain. That brings our total so far to 26.45 inches. We've had flash flood warnings all day long, but everything in our immediate vicinity appears secure, with drainage working the way it's supposed to. Others haven't been so lucky. Normal cumulative rainfall for January 10 in Santa Rosa is 16.44 inches. We are thus now more than 10 inches ahead of normal at my location.

[Update: As of the morning of January 11, we had had another 0.55 inches, bringing the total to 27.00 inches at my location.]

Rain: Stormy Weather (January 7-8, 2017)

In our first big storm in quite a long time, the wind is howling and it's been raining all night. A large branch has fallen from a coast live oak in our yard. So far, we've had 2.70 inches of new rain, as of the morning of January 8. That brings our total so far for the 2016-2017 rain year to 23.30 inches at my location. Normal for this date in Santa Rosa is 15.9 inches. It's supposed to rain for the next three days. Normal annual rainfall for Santa Rosa is a little over 36 inches. We're well on our way to having an above-average year for the first time in a long time.

[Update: As of the morning of January 9, we have had an additional 0.55 inches at my location, bringing the total so far this year to 23.85 inches.]

Rain: A Week of Rain (Early January 2017)

Off to a rainy start to 2017. It started raining again on January 2 and rain is in the forecast through January 7. So far, this new episode has given us 2.85 inches of new precipitation at my location on top of 17.75 inches already. That brings our total so far to 20.60 inches as of January 6. I expect to be updating the total in the coming days, as heavy rain is in the forecast for the coming week. Normal for this time of year is about 14.5 inches, so we remain well above normal.

Rain: More Rain (December 10-16, 2016)

More rain on December 10-11 added another 0.80 inches of precipitation to our total at my northeast Santa Rosa location. Our total for the 2016-2017 rain year now stands at 12.95 inches, which is well above normal for this time of year—and more rain is predicted in the coming days.

[Update: And indeed there was more rain. On December 14-15 we had a solid day of rain that added 3.25 inches to our total for the year, which now stands at 16.20 inches at my location—well ahead of normal, at least for the time being. Normal for this date is about 9.5 inches.]

[Update: More rain on the evening of December 22 and into December 23 added another 1.55 inches of precipitation. That brings our total for the year to 17.75 inches--still more than six inches above normal for this time of year.]

Rain: More Rain (November 28, 2016)

More rain in the past couple of days has added 0.60 inches to our 2016-2017 rain year total, which now stands at 11.05 inches at my location in northeastern Santa Rosa. Normal for this time of year is just under six inches, so, for the time being, we are significantly ahead.

[Update: More rain on December 9 added 1.1 inches of new precipitation, bringing our total to 12.15 inches for the year—but it's still raining as of early morning December 10 and more rain is predicted in the coming week.]

Rain: More Rain (November 19, 20, and 24, 2016)

A good steady rain the past two days has added 2.80 inches to our total for the 2016-2017 rain year, which now stands at 10.00 inch at my location in northeastern Santa Rosa—very good for this time of year. I hope it keeps up. More rain is forecast in the next couple of days.

More rain on November 24 raised the total to 10.45 inches.

Rain: More Rain (October 24-25, 2016)

Rain all day today (October 25) and yesterday has so far added 3.20 inches to our total for the 2016-2017 rain year. As of 7:00PM on the 25th, our total stood at 4.85 inches. Off to a good start—and more rain is forecast.

[Rain has continued on and off since writing the above—an unusually extended period of rain for us. Since last reporting (and, as of noon on October 30) we have had an additional 2.10 inches of precipitation, bringing our total so far to 6.95 inches, which is very healthy for this time of year. May it continue.]

[Occasional sprinkles since last writing have added another 0.25 inches to our total, which is now 7.2 inches, as of noon, Sunday, November 6.]

Rain: First Real Rain of the New Rain Year

We had drizzle a couple of weeks back (0.2 inches) but the first real rain of the new rain year (October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017) began last night. The first rain is always refreshing. It's very welcome, even if it comes in the middle of the Art Trails open studio event tomorrow and Sunday. So far this morning (October 14, 2016) there is 0.75 inches in the rain gauge. I'm hoping we'll have had a couple of inches by the end of the weekend.

[Update: By Sunday morning (October 16) most of the rain clouds were gone. We ended up with 1.45 inches at my location, bringing the annual total to 1.65 inches. I was hoping for more, but everything looks refreshed and the air smells clean.]