Watch in HD for best viewing. This video shows our area of the Bay Area (San Jose, CA) finally get our first real rain in months! The rainy, damp weather started during the predawn hours and lasted roughly just after 8 a.m. or so. The bulk of the rain passed thru around the 7 a.m. hour. We really need rain, even if its only for a couple hours. Of course everyone knows about the crippling multi-year drought here in California... Almost 60 percent of the state is categorized in exceptional drought. Despite this, an impressive Pacific storm by late September standards was giving out significant rainfall in parts of the thirsty West. A sharp dip in the jet stream was lumbering slowly into the West. This storm system was a highly-unusually moist storm for this time of year. The unfamiliar sight of rain that had swept thru the Bay Area late Wednesday and early Thursday had likely marked the first significant rainfall we have received in the region since spring. This may have also marked the start of California’s rainy season. We typically see our first rains at the end of October. This was a few weeks early, but it’s not unheard of. More details of this storm system: Heavier rain began to surge into western Washington, western Oregon and northwest California by late Tuesday night and had persisted Wednesday, but was to diminish by Thursday. Around 1-3 inch rainfall totals were seen from western Washington into western Oregon and far northwest California through early Thursday morning. As for us here closer to home, this storm systems frontal system, or cold front, had pushed into the region during the early morning hours of Thursday, September 25, 2014. Here in San Jose, CA, we only got the tail end of the cold fronts rain, but still enough to get a small accumulation of rainfall. The Sacramento Valley on the other hand, got a good soaking. Rainfall rates of 1-2 inches in three hours prompted a flood advisory early Thursday for the northern Sacramento Valley. This rain was good news for existing large fires in far northwest California, including the King Fire near Lake Tahoe. Is this a drought denter? Yes, runoff triggered by soaking rains from this late-September storm would raise reservoir levels at least by a tad around NorCal. Nevertheless, California still needs a persistently wet winter, with a combination of significant rain and snow to replenish groundwater and reservoir levels. Instead of last winters dominant, ridiculous high pressure ridge that had blocked storms from coming in from the Pacific Ocean, we are hoping for a more normal parade of Pacific storms that will be guided by a more frequent west-to-east flow from the Pacific... (Photos & video clips taken from around San Jose, CA on Thursday morning, September 25, 2014)
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 06:34:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015