Wildfire Watch/ Drought Watch

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  • Last-12-Exit
    Last-12-Exit Charleston, SC Posts: 8,661
    Is 4" of rain in San Francisco really a lot? I read they're shutting schools down. I've never been to SF, is it close to sea level?
  • rr165892
    rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    edited December 2014
    Last-12-Exit said:

    Is 4" of rain in San Francisco really a lot? I read they're shutting schools down. I've never been to SF, is it close to sea level?

    Those crazy west coasters.
    SF is up on a bunch of hills,but some areas like The Marina district and by fisherman wharf are lower I guess.I would think areas north of the Golden Gate like Sausalito with their house boat villages may be prone to flooding.If memory serves its quite boggy/marshy on that side of the bay.But that is more tidal based then rain based.I think mudslides and local storm runoff is more an issue.We on the east coast have a much shallower water table(I think).So I don't know why they freak
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    Heavy rain caused chaos when I lived in San Diego. A combo of no one knowing how to drive in rain mixed with a bunch of oil buildup on the roads due to no rain for long periods of time.

    When I moved down there, the first day a monsoon hit ... it didn't rain again for what seemed like 7 months.
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    Same here on that combo, Jason. What's been hitting SF is heading down our way today. Should be fun!

    And I have a feeling there'll be much damage in terms of mud and rock slides to come.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    rr165892 said:

    Last-12-Exit said:

    Is 4" of rain in San Francisco really a lot? I read they're shutting schools down. I've never been to SF, is it close to sea level?

    Those crazy west coasters.
    SF is up on a bunch of hills,but some areas like The Marina district and by fisherman wharf are lower I guess.I would think areas north of the Golden Gate like Sausalito with their house boat villages may be prone to flooding.If memory serves its quite boggy/marshy on that side of the bay.But that is more tidal based then rain based.I think mudslides and local storm runoff is more an issue.We on the east coast have a much shallower water table(I think).So I don't know why they freak
    rr, I grew up 30 minutes south of S.F. and lived there from '69 to 73 so I know that its not "Why do they freak?" it's "Why are they freaks?" and the answer is, "Because we are gr-o-o-o-o-vy."

    What's all this I hear about rain? I currently live about 3 hours inland from S.F. and not a drop. The tension of storm trying to come in kept me awake almost all night. We need this. Bring it on!

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    Nothing near you, Brian? Earlier the news reported that Sacramento got seven inches just this morning alone (that's what she said :bz ).
  • rr165892
    rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    brianlux said:

    rr165892 said:

    Last-12-Exit said:

    Is 4" of rain in San Francisco really a lot? I read they're shutting schools down. I've never been to SF, is it close to sea level?

    Those crazy west coasters.
    SF is up on a bunch of hills,but some areas like The Marina district and by fisherman wharf are lower I guess.I would think areas north of the Golden Gate like Sausalito with their house boat villages may be prone to flooding.If memory serves its quite boggy/marshy on that side of the bay.But that is more tidal based then rain based.I think mudslides and local storm runoff is more an issue.We on the east coast have a much shallower water table(I think).So I don't know why they freak
    rr, I grew up 30 minutes south of S.F. and lived there from '69 to 73 so I know that its not "Why do they freak?" it's "Why are they freaks?" and the answer is, "Because we are gr-o-o-o-o-vy."

    What's all this I hear about rain? I currently live about 3 hours inland from S.F. and not a drop. The tension of storm trying to come in kept me awake almost all night. We need this. Bring it on!

    Good freaky though.We love visiting SF.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    hedonist said:

    Nothing near you, Brian? Earlier the news reported that Sacramento got seven inches just this morning alone (that's what she said :bz ).

    Crazy! No, not a drop. Just clouds and wind... and we're only 45 minutes east of Sacto. Strange Days!

    And now flickering power. Better shut this baby down. Have a good one, all.

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    brianlux said:

    hedonist said:

    Nothing near you, Brian? Earlier the news reported that Sacramento got seven inches just this morning alone (that's what she said :bz ).

    Crazy! No, not a drop. Just clouds and wind... and we're only 45 minutes east of Sacto. Strange Days!

    And now flickering power. Better shut this baby down. Have a good one, all.

    The news is making it sound pretty bad up your way ("LA, brace yourselves!"). If it's more than their melodrama, I hope you have all the fixins in place! Keep safe.

    The air here has a cold, rare and oddly nice zing to it. First time I've turned on the heat in months.

    Kind of looking forward to this supposed weatherbear.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    "weatherbear"? is that like a soggy teddy bear? haha!

    It took a while to get here but now were at 12 hours of steady rain. Just saw the news and the rain is supposed to ramp up a little more even for a while and continue into the AM. Fortunately, we have good drainage here.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    It was the best description at the time!

    What a mess out here this morning. Power went out during the night, cats were antsy, and so many areas hit with major damage - not to mention all of the car accidents.

    SO fucking glad it's Friday.
  • callen
    callen Posts: 6,388
    brianlux said:

    "weatherbear"? is that like a soggy teddy bear? haha!

    It took a while to get here but now were at 12 hours of steady rain. Just saw the news and the rain is supposed to ramp up a little more even for a while and continue into the AM. Fortunately, we have good drainage here.

    So is it making difference on drought? Get CA through another year? And snow pack?
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    callen said:

    brianlux said:

    "weatherbear"? is that like a soggy teddy bear? haha!

    It took a while to get here but now were at 12 hours of steady rain. Just saw the news and the rain is supposed to ramp up a little more even for a while and continue into the AM. Fortunately, we have good drainage here.

    So is it making difference on drought? Get CA through another year? And snow pack?
    It's definitely helping, for sure, but to truly end the drought the state would need (on average) something like 20 more inches of rain this rain year.

    This was a relatively warm storm so snow levels were fairly high- around 6,000 feet but at higher elevations we did get good snow.

    The reservoirs are filling some which has been much needed but I'm not sure what the effect is on ground water has been. Ground water levels have drop so much in parts of California that in some places the land has sunk, particularly in the San Joaquin valley- as much as several inches per year. This has been going on for many years due to agricultural ground water extraction but even more so during this drought.

    Sorry to sound pessimistic, but one good storm isn't going to do it. We need 4 or 5 more times more rain than what we've gotten so far. But at least this year has been much better that the last few.

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • callen
    callen Posts: 6,388
    brianlux said:

    callen said:

    brianlux said:

    "weatherbear"? is that like a soggy teddy bear? haha!

    It took a while to get here but now were at 12 hours of steady rain. Just saw the news and the rain is supposed to ramp up a little more even for a while and continue into the AM. Fortunately, we have good drainage here.

    So is it making difference on drought? Get CA through another year? And snow pack?
    It's definitely helping, for sure, but to truly end the drought the state would need (on average) something like 20 more inches of rain this rain year.

    This was a relatively warm storm so snow levels were fairly high- around 6,000 feet but at higher elevations we did get good snow.

    The reservoirs are filling some which has been much needed but I'm not sure what the effect is on ground water has been. Ground water levels have drop so much in parts of California that in some places the land has sunk, particularly in the San Joaquin valley- as much as several inches per year. This has been going on for many years due to agricultural ground water extraction but even more so during this drought.

    Sorry to sound pessimistic, but one good storm isn't going to do it. We need 4 or 5 more times more rain than what we've gotten so far. But at least this year has been much better that the last few.

    We went through drought up to last year then it just started raining and we're pretty caught up. Hope same goes your way.
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    callen said:

    brianlux said:

    callen said:

    brianlux said:

    "weatherbear"? is that like a soggy teddy bear? haha!

    It took a while to get here but now were at 12 hours of steady rain. Just saw the news and the rain is supposed to ramp up a little more even for a while and continue into the AM. Fortunately, we have good drainage here.

    So is it making difference on drought? Get CA through another year? And snow pack?
    It's definitely helping, for sure, but to truly end the drought the state would need (on average) something like 20 more inches of rain this rain year.

    This was a relatively warm storm so snow levels were fairly high- around 6,000 feet but at higher elevations we did get good snow.

    The reservoirs are filling some which has been much needed but I'm not sure what the effect is on ground water has been. Ground water levels have drop so much in parts of California that in some places the land has sunk, particularly in the San Joaquin valley- as much as several inches per year. This has been going on for many years due to agricultural ground water extraction but even more so during this drought.

    Sorry to sound pessimistic, but one good storm isn't going to do it. We need 4 or 5 more times more rain than what we've gotten so far. But at least this year has been much better that the last few.

    We went through drought up to last year then it just started raining and we're pretty caught up. Hope same goes your way.
    Glad to hear it. You've probably said before but, where 'bouts are you?

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    Another drought first:

    Yosemite Lookout Opens At Earliest Date In History

    YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A road leading to spectacular views of California's Yosemite National Park opened to drivers on Saturday, marking the earliest date for the occasion in at least 20 years.

    Glacier Point Road takes drivers to a lookout perched at 3, 214 feet above the valley floor, where visitors can view spectacles such as the Half Dome rock, Yosemite Falls and Yosemite's high country. The road closes each winter blocked by snowfall, and last year the park reported an April 14 opening. In other years, the road remained closed until late-May.

    This year's March 28 opening is the earliest listed in records dating back to 1995 published on the park's website. California is struggling through its fourth consecutive year of drought, with a mountain snowpack at a fraction of normal.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/28/yosemite-lookout-opens_n_6961752.html?utm_hp_ref=green

    Coming home from Sac. book fair yesterday the Sierras looked like they usually do in late June/early July. Might be drinking something other than water this summer!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    We were down in Solano County today (north east bay area) and could see the plume of smoke from the latest Lake County fire named The Jerusalem Fire. It looked like and atomic bomb mushroom cloud. Total acres burned so far this year in California with only about 1/2 of the major portion of the fire season over stands at 6,224,545 acres. The average over the last 10 years for an entire year is 4,446,218 acres. Pretty freakin' unsettling.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,668
    Got an email from YubaNet with these stats today:

    Greetings,

    96 uncontained large fires are currently burning, mostly in the Northwestern U.S.
    28,884 firefighters are assigned to the various incidents, with 8,962 in Northern
    California and 3,189 in Southern California. A total of 27,367 acres burned
    yesterday, bringing the acreage for 2015 to 7,163,248. The majority of the acreage
    burned was in Alaska, with 5,100,787 acres. California so far has 404,377 acres
    consumed by fire. As a reminder, peak fire season is in September...
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Last-12-Exit
    Last-12-Exit Charleston, SC Posts: 8,661
    brianlux said:

    Got an email from YubaNet with these stats today:

    Greetings,

    96 uncontained large fires are currently burning, mostly in the Northwestern U.S.
    28,884 firefighters are assigned to the various incidents, with 8,962 in Northern
    California and 3,189 in Southern California. A total of 27,367 acres burned
    yesterday, bringing the acreage for 2015 to 7,163,248. The majority of the acreage
    burned was in Alaska, with 5,100,787 acres. California so far has 404,377 acres
    consumed by fire. As a reminder, peak fire season is in September...

    That is unreal. I heard yesterday that there was a total of 1,000,000 acres that are actively burning. Crazy.
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    Three firefighters killed in Washington. Just horrible.

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