On the verge of a gigantic drought, we are so relieved to have a few days of steady rain.  The rain beating on the rooftops is a delight.  I’ve mentioned in the past that I live in a most unusual rainforest.  We get the vast majority of our rain in the winter.  Our rainy season starts in October and runs through like May.   A typical year shows around 50″ of rain with the range running from 20″ to 112″.

2007-2008   37.60″
2006-2007  27.35″
2005-2006  63.94″
2003-2004  45.22″
1997-1998   90.64″

As you can see, we have had significantly less rain in recent years than in years prior to that.  The 64″ and 45″ years are more typical when you check our historical records.  The 91″ year was atypical at the other end of the spectrum — that was the infamous El Nino year in California with flooding all over the place.

This year, so far, we have about 16″ of rain.  It’s disturbingly low.  While we’ve been enjoying the warm sunny days, we would actually like to not run out of water by mid-June.   It’s especially worrisome since usually January and February are our biggest rain months.  January came and went with very little rain.

So, while I’ve enjoyed the nice weather, I’d rather see gray skies and liquid sunshine for awhile, if it’s not too much trouble!  Our redwood trees need it.  Our streams and rivers need it.  My garden (such as it is) certainly needs it!

So, let it rain!  Let it rain!  Let it rain!

Stats taken from SLV Water Districts data.

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