As I write to you, torrential sheets of rain are pounding the windows of my home. The wind is shaking the building down to the foundation. I?m typing as fast as I can, and praying that the power can stay on long enough for me to finish this piece.
And, oh yes, people are cheering.
The ?Pineapple Express? that barreled in on we San Franciscans from Hawaii is expected to dump 5-8? of rain, with some neighborhoods getting a drenching 13 inches. Much of the city?s downtown is without power, and the BART station is closed.
That compares to a normal full year of 23.64 inches, and a minimal 12.54 inches last year. That was one of the driest years since 1851.
It was probably the most widely forecast storm in California history. Almost every Bay Area school system closed. The California Highway Patrol warned drivers to avoid non-essential driving. Many took the hint and enjoyed a day off.
What was really interesting was the 77-year-old Golden Gate Bridge?s 70 mph design limitation. That?s the speed that local gusts reached. To be safe, the Bridge Authority limited traffic to a single lane each way, and banned trucks outright. As of this writing, it is still standing.
The storm at Lake Tahoe was even more amazing. Winds near Donner Pass were clocked at 135 mph. Some four feet of snow fell at the upper altitudes. The Trans Sierra Interstate 80 has been closed for hours. The onslaught rescued the Christmas ski season just in the nick of time.
It looks like I?ll be taking my snowshoes out of storage early this year.
After suffering through a five yearlong drought, it is now expected to rain nonstop for three weeks.
The drought inflicted a serious economic impact on the state. The prices for our major crops (DBA), grapes, almonds, hay, cotton, oranges, walnuts, rice, apples, and lemons have been soaring. Even our largest cash crop, marijuana (an estimated $5 billion per annum), was affected.
Farmers resorted to drilling deep wells of 1,000 feet or more to tap ancient aquifers. That has led to widespread subsidence. Some areas are now ten feet lower than they were 100 years ago.
The drought all added fuel to the political fires. Many of the battles here have long revolved around water, with profligate Los Angeles (huge lawns, golf courses, and too many people) perennially attempting to steal H2O from the wetter north, via long, expensive canals that we all have to pay for. Now that everyone is soaked, perhaps tempers will ease.
Thank you for the many emails expressing concern for my safety. Even I was not willing to undertake my nightly four-hour mountain backpack in this pestilential weather. However, I will be shopping for a new set of patio furniture, once the January sales hit.
Is anyone knowledgeable about Costco?s offerings on this front?
