We are a bit over 12" for the rain year in Livermore, and a lot of the storm activity has actually tracked just south of us since clobbering us head-on on New Year's Eve (4.55"!), so, yeah, I would say 7" sounds low, too. Interesting link. Amounts in the Santa Cruz mountains (Mt. Umunhum, Uvas Canyon, etc.) can be jaw-dropping even in "normal" (whatever that is anymore) years, but this year...42 inches already?

I know what you mean. Here in Fresno we - supposedly - have had 8.33 inches since October, and only 3.62 inches since January 1. Monday night I had to pump 4 inches from my pool so it didn't overflow. I agree, it doesn't amke sense.

I always thought the measurement came from the airport, but then I heard that the weather service is in Hanford... not near us at all.

I have a very "official" rain gauge. (haha) It is a cat litter box, set out where it just gets straight rainfall and nothing from an eave or tree drip. I put a large rock in the center to keep it from blowing off the sidewalk that I can see from my kitchen window. I am in Sunnyvale, which is always in a rain "shadow", and normally gets less than Moffett or SJC airport. We have filled that sucker 2.5" twice, then most recently the water ran over the low part of the top 4". None of those numbers agree with the official Santa Cara county numbers.

May I suggest that if you want to know how much YOUR yard is getting watered by rain, put a bucket or straight sided casserole dish somewhere out in a clear space of your yard and collect the water.

Digging down with a shovel about 4-6" will tell you if that water is actually soaking in to help your plants or running off being repelled by super dry organic stuff. I learned long ago that those rain numbers don't match what I actually get here.

-Another weather nerd...at least waterwise.

-Babka

Same for Oakland. The Oak Museum often reports much colder temperatures than actually occur there. I wouldn't trust what they say.

Babka, after 6 years in my neighborhood, I can pretty much figure out how much rain has fallen by walking by McDonald Ave and 14th street! I check when I get home from my walk and am usually pretty close!

I resonate with these comments. In my area, the rainfall, temps, and wind speed is measured either downtown or out at the airport. I'm in the hills, and ours never match the data. And the local weather casts can report wind "gusts" of 20 mph downtown and completely leave out our 50 mph gusts in the hills! A neighbor has made his own weather station that I can access on weather underground, and I now rely on his data more than any other. I wonder how hard it is to set up your own weather measurements and get your own weather underground spot?

I agree that the weather for our town never quite is what we see here. I have my own way I measure rain storms, not to get numbers, but to see if the garden got enough to water the plants for at least 3 weeks:

1) Are there any areas of the driveway or brick patio under the large, dense trees which are still dry? That means we just got enough to dampen things.

2) Is the rain gutter full and flowing in front of our house? - If yes, good news, but it has to keep it up for many hours to mean enough rain. Once in a REAL storm the rain gutter was so full, and running so fast, that our empty but huge plastic garbage can floated a half a block away.

3) Is the rain gutter full and flowing across the street from our house (which is slightly uphill from the one on our side) - If yes, better news!

4) Is the "river" running down the low side of our driveway out to the storm drain at the street? (We get runoff from the slightly higher land to the North of our property, in a REAL storm, and it makes quite a river -).

5) Is the sump pump running under our front porch, in the corner which floods? (That means all of the beds are saturated, and we need to keep off them.). Best news!

Jackie

I just looked at my local weather forecast: possible FREEZING temperatures for Wednesday and Thursday nights! It's February for crying out loud! It's suppose to be early Spring!

I don't remember it ever having these cold nights in February.

Our nearest official rain gauge is Burbank airport at almost 13” for the season. My rain gauge has measured almost 29” this season. But I am in the Angeles Forest foothills at 2000 ft so we have significant rain due to this.

Do you know about: microclimates, rainshadows,? Do you have any weather gauges.?

My backyard is definitely a microclimate. And, no, I don't bother with rain guages anymore. I just look at my pool to see if we had enough for it to need some water taken out..... rarely. At least we didn't have ice on the top surface this morning.

THIS IS AS OF TODAY -- 2-17-23:

Southern California Weather Force

1h · Long Range Weather Warning Issued, Upgraded from Advisory; Raiden Storm Pattern Developing for Southern California

Southern California Weather Force has issued upgraded the Long-Range Weather Advisory from back on February 8th to now a Long-Range Weather Warning as the next Raiden Storm Pattern develops so read on for details and important notes, including NASCAR weekend ...

Read full article/alert - https://www.southerncaliforniaweatherforce.com/.../long.../

This page is only for higher class alerts and/or higher population affecting posts. To join the group and follow all the updates when this page is not active, here is the link - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1452217485073192/

===================

Follow up comments indicate a Southern flow (good for my area) and a pattern of storms continuing into March.

So mote it be!

I'm almost giddy at the forecast of rain into March. It's probably not enough, at least in my area, to take us out of drought status, but every little bit helps the vegetation and therefore also the fauna to survive. In November and early December so many trees here seemed to be on the verge of dying and most have now seemingly recovered. It's a very heartening sight.

Our lakes are near 100% up here in Sonoma County, but that doesn't mean the affects of the drought are over! Many trees' roots were affected, and the winds have been toppling those trees! The ground water still has to come up to fill the water table, BUT! Things are looking better!

Friday we got an unheard of 4.5 inches of rain in one day. My friend's rain gauge said so, as did the new depth of my pool. I pumped the excess from the pool in anticipation of the next two storms coming in this next week.

It's been unusually cold and windy too. I have some beautifully toned wind chimes that have serenada me for several weeks. Today is the first time they've been silent in weeks.

Sun at the moment and I wonder how long that will last. I think I shall go sit in the sun for awhile.

We had 3.49 inches in this last rain storm and it's supposed to begin raining again tonight. The Palomar Mountain range is socked in with snow (local traffic only) and the same goes for the San Bernardino mountains. This is all extremely good news for our parched so. CA land, although the LA and San Diego areas had flooding and power poles and trees toppling. It's the yin and yang of life, but overall we need this moisture really badly. I imagine central and northern CA are seeing too much of a good thing, but I imagine there will be some spectacular spring and summer roses in that area. In my garden the rose situation is not so good but also not hopeless. It's too bad the squirrels don't like alyssum because that's everywhere right now and looking very pretty.

What great news, Ingrid! I've felt for your plants with the wildlife predation. I am having some of that here. I am hoping for a vole colony collapse. I apparently lack your generous spirit.

Sheila I also lack her generous spirt-that’s how I feel about the elk. I dislike the deer immensely but at least they are eating. The elk mostly destroy.

I feel for you all with the voles, deer and elk problems. I would definitely welcome a kitty like Kate's in our neighborhood. It would probably scare the pants off the ground squirrels!

The wind moves in again tonight into LA. Winds up to 45mph. The storm last week had gusts up to 60mph and it took out 6-7 large new basal breaks that had sprouted since November when the rain started. It’s sad to lose 2-3ft canes but mother nature giveth and taketh; I have five rain barrels full now. And it’s raining again tonight…

@Ryan Coastal LA Zone 10b The wind today has been crazy. It rained really hard overnight... I was awake from 12:45-2 am listening to it. Then the wind kicked up. 45 mph sounds about right, with gusts higher. It's been a mix of sun and clouds all day, then ~ 3 pm, we got pea-size hail for about 10 minutes. As you said, last week was much worse... I had extreme garden wind mayhem.

I feel your pain on the loss of your basals in the wind. I've lost several over the years from wind, but the saddest was a 3-4 foot new cane that broke off and was laying across my driveway as I pulled in from work. Welcome home indeed :-D

Yup we got pea sized hail today as well, maybe even larger but it was soft. Still a pretty wild sight. The roses on the roof took the brunt of it, same as the wind.

Like Seaside I’m learning some varieties deal with wind better, but hail is a new one.