P91116KMost of us here agree that the minimal bit of precipitation that fell from the sky on Thursday was not real rain. There are a few different theories about what it actually was though. It could be considered to have been drizzle. It alternatively could have been heavy fog or mist. Some of us make up silly names for what it was, such as fine rain, dusting, spritzes, sprinkles or mizzle.

Is it just me, or do those last three sound like inane kitten names? ‘Dusting’, sounds dirty and dry, which it was not.

Whatever it was, it was the second occurrence of such precipitation since the rainy season ended last spring. Something similar happened on the last day of September. I wrote about it in my other blog, with a picture of it on the hood of a parked car, rather than the windshield. I think it was more of a surprise then because it was earlier, and the chance of precipitation was slim.

This weather pattern is still within what would be considered normal here. The rainy season typically starts a bit earlier, even if with just a single primary storm passing through, followed by a long pause before more follow. There is no strict schedule though. We know that the rain will eventually start, and that rainy seasons that start late tend to provide significantly more rain.

Rain is likely just as uncomfortable here as it is everywhere else. Perhaps it is even dirtier, because it rinses off dust and crud that has been accumulating since spring. No one wants to work in their garden while it is wet. Nonetheless, because there is no rain for nearly half the year, the first storm of a season is something to be celebrated. The forecast predicts no celebration yet.

14 thoughts on “Not Quite Rain”

  1. Today is the 175th day since we’ve had any rain in So Cal. Coincidentally, in the last couple of days, all of So Cal has been determined to be in a state of “abnormal drought,” with a sliver of extreme drought on the eastern edge next to Arizona. We are being “threatened” with rain on Wednesday to Thursday of the coming week, but I would guess the chance is pretty slim. On the other hand, it was very foggy this morning — I couldn’t see the house across the street! The season is changing — but who knows to what!

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      1. Sorry — my thought was that several days out a prediction of rain is more than likely not to be fruitful — that it’s not likely to rain. As it is, the rain is now likely to fall only south of a line from Irvine to Redlands!

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      2. There is no need to apologize. I know how such predictions work, because they do the same here. Predictions do not mean much until they are just a few days out, and even then, they rarely amount to what was originally predicted.

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      3. IT RAINED TODAY! It has rained for 1/2 hour or so at least twice today — once around 8 am, and once around 11 am. It’s now 3, and it looks like rain again, and I don’t know if it rained before 8. I believe the prediction is that this rain will last perhaps through tomorrow morning We probably won’t see much more rain now until January, but it’s good to see some water this morning!.

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      4. That is so excellent! Even though it typically does not amount to much the first time in the season, it is fun because it has been so long since it happened. We actually got a very brief shower for a few minutes just after midnight this morning.

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    1. Thank you. I am not too worried about it though. For the first time since last spring, a 50% chance of rain is forecast for about midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. Weirdly, we got a few seconds of rain just after midnight this morning. It really was weird, and . . . wet.

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  3. Pingback: Almost RAIN! – Tony Tomeo

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