After more than a month of no rain, showers are in store for Marin County and the region this weekend, but it will not be enough to solve the drought problem, federal forecasters said.
“It’s a drop in the bucket,” said Roger Gass, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “It’s not really going to do anything to change the deficit we have for the overall season.”
The late-season storm from the Gulf of Alaska is the first of the month and has the potential to bring about a quarter inch to a half inch of rain to most of Marin County. The peaks and coastal ridges could be a little more wet, Gass said.
Computer models show the rain will begin late Saturday in the North Bay, spreading across the wider Bay Area and Santa Cruz mountains on Sunday. There could be some lingering showers into Monday morning, but they are likely to taper off before midnight, Gass said.
It hasn’t rained in Marin since March 18 and 19, when a storm dropped less than an inch, Gass said.
Considering it’s been such a dry year, Marin County fire Chief Jason Weber said, “Beggars can’t be choosers. We’ll take what we can get.”
The county typically recruits more than 100 seasonal crew members to start their assignments in mid-June, Weber said. This year, however, the county has already brought on one 15-person seasonal crew and the department plans on having the full team assembled a month ahead of schedule, Weber said.
“This drought should not be downplayed,” he said. “California doesn’t need another terrible fire season. It’s more important than ever that people protect their homes.”
Overall, rainfall for the region this season is only about 40% of normal, including Marin County. A weather gauge in Kentfield has recorded 14.53 inches of rain since Oct. 1, the beginning of the water year.
San Francisco has received just 8.72 inches of rain since Oct. 1 — 39% of its historical average for that time period. Oakland has had 7.57 inches, also 39% of normal. And San Jose has received 5.27 inches, or 38% of normal.
Brayden Murdock, a weather service meteorologist, said the coming storm system is not connected with Typhoon Surigae, a powerful typhoon that has battered the Philippines in recent days. The remnants of that system could bring rain in the middle of next week, Murdock said, but computer models now show that might be concentrated north of the Bay Area.
“We’re getting into the months where you don’t really expect too much rain, but in late April you can still see the chances of a little rain here and there,” Murdock said. “A lot of this can change. Take it with a grain of salt. We’ll know more in the next two days or so. But for now, the storm track for Sunday looks pretty good.”
The Bay Area News Group contributed to this article.
The Link LonkApril 22, 2021 at 04:12AM
https://www.marinij.com/2021/04/21/rain-marin-to-receive-drop-in-the-bucket-after-dry-month/
Rain: Marin to receive ‘drop in the bucket’ after dry month - Marin Independent Journal
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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