Hey SoCal -Get ready!

[Harry’s Palms]

It sure feels good , it looks like Mother Nature is going to soak our gardens . It has been quite the dry spell here since the deluge in November. I have been holding off on watering the last few days because the weather calls for a lot of rain to fall in our area. The last rain event delivered about 10” of rain over 3-4 days . The palms and flowers looked so happy. Then it turned dry and warm with high pressure dominating our weather. THAT is about to change. In my area it should start late afternoon . Los Angeles and south to San Diego will see rain by evening 🤞. Our Northern California neighbors have had flooding inland , unfortunately , and the burn areas down here may be evacuated . So with a watchful eye , I am embracing the chance of rain. Harry

This is what we woke up to ! No rain yet but my sailor instincts ( and old bones) tell me it is imminent.

Got me a new rain gage , I retired my hillbilly gage( empty cat food container)😂. Harry

[Fusca]

2 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Got me a new rain gage , I retired my hillbilly gage( empty cat food container)😂. Harry

And you added some additional color to your garden at the same time!  😆 

Hope you get a decent amount of rain for the plants but no mudslides.

[Foggy Paul]

This was our weekend total...lots more to come beginning tonight.

 

[Harry’s Palms]

That’s a good amount. It is just starting to rain here . A couple of hours ahead of schedule. Harry

[happypalms]

Raindrops keep falling on my head…… 

You can buy second hand rain guages from out west , some as old as 10 years old and have only ever seen rain 3 times in those ten years, a bargain almost brand new rain gauge that has never been filled up with water! 🤣

[Harry’s Palms]

It’s been raining since yesterday afternoon , the heavy rain started about 11pm last night . I hope all of you in California are ok . We got lots of wind late yesterday . I hope all the palm trees are still upright, especially any flowering Caryotoids. I started cutting down any flowering stems on my C. Mitis after a large trunk fell right on my walkway a few years ago. It luckily didn’t harm anything but it was very heavy for its size. Harry

[Kim]

I've been getting Flood Watch warnings in San Diego for 3 days now, saying the rains would arrive at 4 am today. Those announced times are rarely accurate. It's slightly damp outside, and the temperature is unusually warm - 70F.  I guess that comes with the Pineapple Express. Looking for rain mid-day or afternoon. Hoping for a good soaking. Often at my location the totals are light compared to further north in San Diego county. Time for a rain dance!

[Harry’s Palms]

As of 10:02 am we had 4.1” . At day break the wind was furious with a bit of thunder and lightening . Blew a frond off my large Queen palm out front and I found it in the street two houses down . It blew a patio heater onto my Arenga but no damage to the palm . It is one tough palm! We are getting a break right now. Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

6 hours ago, Kim said:

I've been getting Flood Watch warnings in San Diego for 3 days now, saying the rains would arrive at 4 am today. Those announced times are rarely accurate. It's slightly damp outside, and the temperature is unusually warm - 70F.  I guess that comes with the Pineapple Express. Looking for rain mid-day or afternoon. Hoping for a good soaking. Often at my location the totals are light compared to further north in San Diego county. Time for a rain dance!

Our daughter lives in San Diego . I haven’t heard from her today , I was wondering…. Harry

[iDesign]

EXTREME wind today in Carlsbad (North San Diego county).

Okay, I hear laughing from some of you, but it was extreme by SoCal standards!

I noticed my husband was laying down palms, so took some video (this isn’t even the windiest moment).

My yard is particularly vulnerable due to so many palms still residing in pots. Some like the Licuala sumawongii did amazingly well (confirming I picked a great spot for it). Others needed to be laid down or moved to a spot sheltered from the wind. 

Anyway, hope you enjoy watching my under construction garden get blown around a bit!
 

 

 

[Las Palmas Norte]

A similar or series of events took place in our region in the PNW. Copious amounts of rain in some areas which created flooding from the Nooksack River in mid December. It also pushed temperatures above normal and in some cases set a daily record (mid 60°s F). Fortunately, all that nasty stuff stayed clear of our immediate area, but sadly others had farms, homes and livestock affected. Stay safe folks.

 

[Kim]

Nice video Stacey! Good idea to lay down the pots before the wind did it for you.

Here in Point Loma area the winds were extreme as well, the kind that jerk the car door out of your hand when you open it. Rain in my area was just the leftovers from everywhere else, I guess -- .39 at the tip of Point Loma and .54 at San Diego International Airport as of 11pm Wednesday night -- I am sort of between the two. The ground is wet, but not the heavy soaking I had been led to expect. Supposedly more will be on the way tomorrow. 🤞 Fingers crossed.

 

[James B]

Our weather here in Alta Loma was mild compared to the weather channel’s forecast. We had about 3.5” of rain yesterday vs the 6.5” projected. So it was way off for us. This morning the sun is out. Also the wind forecast was off. This I’m most thankful for as no wind damage. 

[Harry’s Palms]

Thanks for the reports! Stacy , that video is amazing . At 7am I checked the rain gage , an additional 1.75” had fallen between 10am yesterday and now. This brings the storm total to 5.8” …..so far. We are getting a reprieve at this time. Harry

‘Looking West , towards the Pacific , from our deck.

[DoomsDave]

I had about three inches, according to my Redneck Rain Gauges.

[Harry’s Palms]

So the storm has passed . The rainfall total here , after 3+ days of rain is 8.4”! We are getting a break after the storm , with another on the horizon for Newyears. I went outside to check the garden out . The typical debris needs to be cleaned up and weeds need to be pulled . The palms look soooo happy with the soaking ! As I did the walkabout , I could almost hear the joy coming from the frond friends. Harry

Chambey’s happy as are the others.

Technicolor!

Sky so blue.

Thanks for joining me , on to the New Year!! Harry