Rain brings relief and fear to drought-stricken California

[question everything]

Source: CBS

LOS ANGELES - A Pacific storm moved into drought-dry California on Tuesday, bringing hopes for much-needed moisture but fears of mudflows on wildfire-scarred hillsides. Light rain began falling before sunrise, but the heaviest downpours were expected later in the day.

Storm watches were posted for a large swath of the Sierra Nevada, where a huge amount of the state's water supply is normally stored as snowpack. Significant accumulations were predicted but not enough to be a drought buster. Meteorologist Eveyln Taft of CBS Los Angeles reports parts of the mountain region could see up to 3 feet of snow.

However, the predicted rain and snowfall is bad news for large parts of the California coast, where the soil just can't handle as much rain as has been predicted, Taft reports.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rain-brings-relief-and-fear-to-drought-stricken-california/

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Hoping for the best. Hoping for reservoirs to catch it, instead of it just flowing away to the ocean.

[BlueCaliDem]

1. YAAAY! More water for fracking, less for Californians! Yippie!

So, Californians (that would include me and mine)...don't get too excited now! That's basically Tafts's message with his concern trolling: "However, the predicted rain and snowfall is bad news for the large parts of the California coast where the soil just can't handle as much rains as has been predicted". So what to do...what to do. *snaps fingers* Here's an idea - use all that excess water for fracking! Problem solved.

[question everything]

17. Always been a catch-22

(is the young generation familiar with this phrase?)

You get a lot of rain, you get nice, lush vegetation, then come the dry wind through the canyon, fire has plenty of the dry vegetation to burn and then you are left with barren landscape for any rain to just flow into the ocean.

[Scairp]

19. Oh come on

That is very weird thing to say about desperately needed rain finally coming. I just hope we have a normal winter with lots of rain. This drought is too much.

[BlueCaliDem]

20. I hope you were referring to Taft's remark, not what I've written in my post.

Yes, we desperately need water here in California, yet despite the drought we've been suffering for decades, corporations are still allowed to use what little water we have for unnecessary fracking for oil and gas - stuff that, in turn, will get burned and add to global warming - but hey. It's profitable for some, isn't it?

Given the situation, anti-fracking activists say it’s time for Governor Jerry Brown to put a stop to water-intensive fracking, claiming that the controversial oil and gas production method is exacerbating the problem.

“We’re talking about a triple threat to our water from fracking,” says Adam Scow, the California director for Food & Water Watch.

The first threat: The fracking process requires a lot of water, which then becomes unsuitable for any other use.

While it’s true that fracking in California doesn’t require as much water as it does in Texas and Pennsylvania, Scow contends that any amount lost to fracking is unacceptable: “In the middle of the worst drought in 50 years, they’re taking 140,000 to 150,000 gallons of water out of the water cycle per frack job. They’re destroying that amount of water on a daily basis.”
http://ecowatch.com/2014/08/01/fracking-california-drought/

[ffr]

2. A beautiful comma coming in right now to them

As meteorologists would say, "the storm door is open."



I think that mudslides aside, they're all extremely happy after years of virtually nothing.

[stopwastingmymoney]

3. It's been raining for days in Northern CA

What concerns me is that it's so warm, we still haven't had frost in the North Bay.

I'm looking at the weather for Tahoe and it's barely freezing at night and coming up to 40 plus during the day.

Is anyone in the Sierras? Is there snow accumulating?

[Brother Buzz]

4. Mediocre snows dropped the last few days on an anemic base

Quick spot on the radio says this storms is so warm it's only expected to snow above 7000'.

Killer frosts mostly happen in late December and January; I've still got a Roma tomato plant loaded with fruit and still producing blooms.

[padfun]

10. These storms are from the Tropics

Not from Alaska like they usually are.

[rollin74]

15. storm is expected to drop 1-2 feet of snow above 7,000 foot level by Wednesday night

snow levels may briefly drop to 6,000 feet

unfortunately it's a fairly warm storm

[olddad56]

16. keep in mind that it is still autumn.

If the weather pattern continues, I think we will get the snow pack we need it the Sierra's before spring.

[yuiyoshida]

5. Raining like crazy here in San Francisco

could hear it pelting down my window... in a steady stream, and good for us, we need it.

[greymattermom]

7. the third picture is gorgeous!

I love the shiny pavement. More like this please.

[yuiyoshida]

8. Will see what I can do...

[stopwastingmymoney]

11. Great shots!

I love the one with the bridge especially

[CreekDog]

18. they actually shut the Cable Cars down today

the braking system is not good in heavy rain.

[XemaSab]

6. It's been raining up north for a few days now

[PasadenaTrudy]

9. Drizzle and light rain

in Pasadena area all morning. I would love some thunder and lightning, and hard rain. Much more exciting to watch.

[MoonchildCA]

12. It's coming down pretty heavily right now in Ventura.

My cats are not happy to be stuck inside. They don't understand why I'm holding them hostage.

[ffr]

13. You'd think we all lived in a desert by how focused we are on

the Gods finally showing us some favor.

[ffr]

14. Live doppler radar for S.F.

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/WxMap.aspx?location=USCA0987