Saturday, January 16, 2010

A Storm's a Brewing on the Horizon

I mentioned yesterday that the weatherman is forecasting rain next week. As Meg pointed out, this already has us Southern Californians stressing. I mean I don't even know where my umbrella is! And this is the honest truth - my son had driven a year before he had to drive in the rain. How are we all going to live through the week?

Honestly, the one thing that *does* have some of us concerned is the forecasted size of the storm. According to the forecast, as much as 8 inches of rain may fall next week. I realize for most of the country, 8 inches of rain is no big deal. Heck, south Florida can receive a quarter of that in an afternoon! But, we are just not capable of processing that amount of water out here. You need to keep in mind - the typical year's worth of rainfall here is around 14 inches. Here's what 4 inches of rain over three days did back in 2005:




If you look about 45 seconds into the video you see that the rescuers are laying across what looks like a divided trail? Well, those are the trails that a lot of us run on here! Of course - this isn't Mother Nature's fault. We're just not used to it, so we don't do things like realize that we *should* be sticking to higher ground.

The forecasters are saying rain is starting Sunday night. This time it must be for real. I went running last night (a quick and easy six miles) and got these pictures of the leading edge of the storm:




So, fellow Southern Californians - take it easy this week. If you are going to run in the rain, stay out of the flood channels (like the Los Angeles River, San Diego Creek, etc.). Stay off of the trails that run next to creeks. And take caution - just because it isn't raining where you are doesn't mean that the stream isn't channelling water from way upstream. That's water folks. Notice how it's sunny outside:



Let's be smart this week!

7 comments:

  1. They are really hyping the storm down here in San Diego too. It needs to hold off until Sunday night so we can all run into the street once the Chargers beat the Jets. Right now, it's not looking good (weatherwise, that is).

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  2. Nice reminder, Glenn, stay off of the trails and flood channels! I'm already planning out my running outfits that will be water-tight for next week, ugh, I don't have much!
    I agree with Anne, let's hope the rain waits until Sunday night...GO CHARGERS!!

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  3. That's IF it rains as much as they say it will. We were expecting a nice shower a couple of days ago and it just spritzed enough to mess up everyone's cars. We really do need the rain, though.

    The weather guy here said it was going to rain AFTER the Chargers beat the Jets. ;)

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  4. Good luck weathering the storm and staying comfortable while running. That much rain in LA is crazy! The roads will probably have standing water in them, too. I'm not sure if the drains can handle that much!

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  5. Supposed to rain for 7 days and 7 nights. Brace yourself!

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  6. Thanks for the heads up. I don't mind a day or two of rain, but geez...all week is too much. I pay a lot of money to live in this climate! LOL.

    I appreciate the reminder about the rivers. I live about a mile from the Santa Ana River and that is the only flat place for me to run (I'm in Anaheim Hills). I guess i am going to do hills in the rain this week. SIGH.

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  7. Hope you're staying DRY glenn.

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