NOW we get rain

[osideterry]

Glad to see it raining for two days, even if we just get 0.5"-1.0".

But wait a minute... is this going to polish off my palms that have a less than great chance of surviving? I know alot of rain is bad, but can I expect to see more damage from this amount.

[Palmhut1]

Terry, let it rain .........

[osideterry]

This winter has me either paranoid or snakebit. I can't until spring when I can lop off all the brown and really know what's going to make it.

[Palmhut1]

Amen to that brother.... :cool:

[happ]

The brown hills are parched & I can't afford to irrigate the entire lot.  The hope is that the blocking pattern is subdued by subtropical jetstream that we rely on to stimulate moisture.  The "monsoon" for California is already entering the last 2 months  

Rainfall can result in some palm frond burn but overall brings many more benefits than deficits.

My storm total : 0.24 Rain year total [Jul/Jun] : 1.50  

[osideterry]

Bring on the rain! The healthy palms will love it and the sickest ones will be replaced with Jubaeopsis caffra, Dypsis decipiens, Sabal riverside, Butia capitata, Phoenix rupicola, Chamaedorea radicalis, Jubaea chilensis, Bismarckia nobilis, Parajubaea torallyii, Nanorrhops ritchiana, Rhapis exelsis, Arenga engleri, Livistona decorum, Ceroxylon ventricosum, etc.

I live in 9B for crying out loud! I HAVE OPTIONS!

[Shon]

Terry don't give up hope for the more tropical stuff. There are more options than you think.

[osideterry]

I'm not giving up on tropical stuff. It just has to survive 26F without damage. I'm not into reruns. Another way of thinking about it is this. I hit 28F every year. Why plant palms rated at 30F?

[happ]

We may have to wait a bit longer    

The models are favoring a storm track into NorCal this week.  But stronger storms should move into SoCal next weekend.

Pretty hot today; already 84F @ 1:00PM

Here's the latest from NWS-LA 02-04-07

.LONG TERM (WED-SAT)...

SEEMS THAT GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT MOST OF THE ENERGY OF

A VERY IMPRESSIVE SERIES OF STORMS WILL TAKE THE MAJORITY OF THE

PRECIP INTO NORTHERN CAL . . . SEVERAL SHORTWAVES WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA

THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SINCE THESE SYSTEMS WILL HAVE PLENTY OF

SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE TO TAP INTO...SEVERAL INCHES OF RAINFALL COULD

ACCUMULATE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA...BUT IF

MODELS CHANGE THE FORECAST TRACK OF THESE STORMS JUST SLIGHTLY

SOUTH...SEVERAL INCHES OF PRECIP COULD AFFECT VENTURA/LOS ANGELES COUNTIES AS

WELL. BEST CHANCE OF RAIN FOR THE LA AREA WILL BE FRI NIGHT INTO

SAT.

THE SUBTROPICAL FETCH OF MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE NEXT SYSTEMS

SHOULD KEEP SNOW LEVELS NEAR OR ABOVE RESORT LEVELS THROUGH THE

WEEKEND. PW VALUES FORECAST TO BE WELL OVER AN INCH WITH MOISTURE

PLUME WHICH SHOULD HELP ENHANCE RAINFALL TOTALS. CONTINUED TO GROUP

THE THU-SAT TIME PERIOD TOGETHER AND GONE WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN ALL

AREAS. CHANCES ARE GOOD THAT MOST...IF NOT ALL OF OUR CWA WILL GET

RAIN AT SOME POINT LATE THIS WEEK. BUT EXACTLY WHEN AND HOW MUCH ARE

STILL VERY MUCH IN QUESTION.

[osideterry]

I'll take rain, and snow in the local mountains, over 15% humidity and lows in the low 30s. Subtropical moisture sounds pretty good.

[happ]

Not very winter-like today.  If it won't rain then it might as well be summer  

NWS-LA 02-04-07

LAX  :  80

DOWNTOWN/USC  :  88

LONG BEACH :  86

SANTA MONICA :  81

PASADENA :  86

SAN GABRIEL : 90

YORBA LINDA :   88

ANAHEIM   90

SAN DIEGO :  80

CHINO :  88

SAN PASQUAL/WILD ANIMAL PARK :  89

EL CAJON :   87

[MattyB]

Rainfall can result in some palm frond burn but overall brings many more benefits than deficits.

My storm total : 0.24 Rain year total [Jul/Jun] : 1.50  

Happ, what do you mean by rain causing palm frond burn?  I thought that the rain could only help.  For the record, I got .94 of an inch for the storm.  Not bad.

[happ]

(MattyB @ Feb. 06 2007,01:50)

QUOTE

Rainfall can result in some palm frond burn but overall brings many more benefits than deficits.

My storm total : 0.24 Rain year total [Jul/Jun] : 1.50  

Happ, what do you mean by rain causing palm frond burn?  I thought that the rain could only help.  For the record, I got .94 of an inch for the storm.  Not bad.

I believe the yellowing is due to cold damp soil after the storm passes and chilly nights continue for a week or more.  

[happ]

IT'S RAINING  

And has been since 4:30AM.  Bedroom window open, I was wakened by the sweet sound of raindrops  

May end up with an inch before the system weakens & it returns to sunny & dry, as it has this entire winter  

The ground is absorbing every drop w/ no runoffs even in mountain "burn areas."

California must receive much more moisture in order to replenish the water shed.  Last winter Arizona experienced a near-total drought.  May be California's turn  

Anyone else have rain gauges?

[Palmhut1]

It's not raining in Vista at all.    yet....

[happ]

Storms in the Future For Needy California?

AccuWeather - Ken More - Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Are more rain storms in the future for California? The answer is, probably, but not soon.

Despite the storms that passed through the state last weekend and early in the week, precipitation for the rainfall season continues to run much below normal. Here are some examples of the percentage of normal rain that has fallen since July 1, 2006;

San Francisco-63%

Sacramento-59%

Fresno-48%

Santa Barbara-48%

Los Angeles-22%

San Diego-35%

Palm Springs-12%

And no rain is likely over this entire area through at least Saturday. In fact, a big warming trend is underway and peaks on Friday with sunshine over most of the state Thursday and Friday. Temperatures by Friday will climb as high as the lower and middle 80s over inland areas of southern California and across the lower deserts, with 60s and 70s in central sections of the state. This dry, warm spell is thanks to a big ridge of high pressure building east from the Pacific.

Now there does look like changes take place by Sunday and Monday. A storm drops south from the northern Pacific Saturday to somewhere off the northern California coast by Sunday. That storm has the chance to bring some rain just about anywhere during the time period Sunday through Monday night. The problem right now is that our computer models do not agree where it moves. Some models, in fact, say it stays off the coast while moving south and then moves inland in northwest Mexico. On that track northern and central sections of the state may not have very much rain at all. Even the south is not guaranteed the rainfall needed to help the drought.

Over the next few days I will track how the models are handling this storm and try to come up with an idea of how much rain to expect and when. But in the meantime, just sit back and enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperatures.

Updated: 2/14/2007 6:09 PM