MORE ABOUT WHAT I AM CALLING THE #KEEPTHEBEETRAIN OF MAY 15

When all is said and done, the pair of storms could provide impressive rainfall totals for San Diego County:
Coast & Valleys: 0.75”-1.25”
Mountains: 1-2”
Deserts: 0.25”
San Diego is forecast to receive more rain than areas north of us, like Los Angeles and Riverside.

“Not only are May storms extremely rare,” Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said. “For San Diego to be the big winner in the rainfall race is even stranger. But, we certainly welcome it!”

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Wintry-Storm-May-Rain-Showers-303737761.html


Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Wintry-Storm-May-Rain-Showers-303737761.html#ixzz3aFjSksjq
Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebook

Drought Relief Rain

http://www.weather.com/forecast/regional/news/california-rare-may-rain-sierra-snow-2015


4:18 pm
Friday May 15, 2015


Collected a lot of Rain today!
Did my laundry hand wash in rain water with Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds.
It was a spiritually enlivening experience!

HERE IS THE STORY ABOUT THE RAIN IN CASE THIS LINK GOES DEAD


After a winter and early spring yielding record low Sierra snowpack compounding a crippling multi-year drought, parts of California are seeing a strangely out-of-season soaking that will continue through Friday.

Record rainfall has already fallen in southern California. On Thursday, showers and thunderstorms brought locally heavy rainfall to the San Diego area. San Diego International Airport measured 1.51 inches of rain in just about 90 minutes. A total of 1.63 inches fell on Thursday at Lindbergh Field, making it the wettest day in May on record.

This heavy rain brought flash flooding to the area with multiple water rescues reported. There was also a rain delay for the baseball game between the Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres on Thursday night. This is only the fifth rain delay at San Diego's Petco Park since opening in 2004.

San Diego is also tied for third wettest May as of early Friday morning, with a monthly total of 2.1 inches. The current record for wettest May is 2.54 inches set in 1921. Additional rainfall is expected on Friday so it is possible that the record for wettest May could be broken.

Record rainfall also occurred in downtown Los Angeles where a daily rainfall record of 0.16 inches of rain was set. The previous record was only 0.03 inches set in 1902.


Enlarge
Satellite image and jet stream midday Thursday along the West Coast. Teal-shaded streamlines depict the strongest jet-stream level winds, illustrating the sharp southward plunge of the jet stream off the West Coast.
Rain/Snow Forecast
Enlarge
Rain/Snow Forecast
Forecast Through Friday Night
You can thank the jet stream for this.

For much of this past winter and early spring, the polar jet stream had taken a large northward migration into Canada, keeping Pacific storms away from the West Coast.

Instead, for the next few days, the jet is taking a sharp southward plunge over the eastern Pacific Ocean, steering vigorous upper-level disturbances into Southern California.

The upshot of this is showers and even some thunderstorms with hail, are possible in parts of particularly Southern California through late Friday. A flash flood watch is also in effect through Friday afternoon for portions of southern California, including San Diego.

(INTERACTIVE: West Coast Radar Loop)

Some rainfall totals in Southern California will exceed an inch, especially in locations where thunderstorms persist. Beware of the potential for debris flows and slides near recent wildfire burn areas.

Snow will also blanket the Sierra Nevada as well as the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. Accumulations should remain less than a foot in these areas, generally above 6000 feet.

(INTERACTIVE: NWS Winter Alerts)

While this precipitation may be considered "manna from heaven" in this sun-worshipping state, it is only a tiny drop in a massive bucket that is this multi-year drought.

Let's stick to the positive news, here. How unusual is this May rain?

How Rare is a May California Soaking?
January-April was the third driest such period on record in California, exceeded only by 2013 -- the state's record driest year -- and 1977.


Enlarge
Average rainfall in downtown Los Angeles in the wettest and driest six-month periods.

Enlarge
California drought monitor analysis from May 12, 2015. The darkest brown shading corresponds to the area of most exceptional drought. (NOAA/USDA/NDMC)
From May through October, only 9 percent of the year's average rain fell in Los Angeles.

In May, that monthly average was a mere 0.26 inches of rain as the dry season started to set in.

You can understand state water managers completely throwing in the towel for the 2014-2015 water year by now.

However, L.A. may pick up four times their average May rainfall in just one or two days through late Friday.

In fact, L.A. has only recorded 13 Mays since 1878 with at least an inch of rain, for an average return interval of once every 10-11 years. This last occurred in 2003.

In San Diego, this is even more unusual.

Only once since 1930 has this city synonymous with picture-perfect weather seen a one-inch rainfall in May -- May 8, 1977 -- when 1.49 inches was measured at Lindbergh Field.

Sierra snow isn't all that typical in May, either.

Tahoe City, California, only averages 2.3 inches of May snow. By this time of year, spring snowmelt of the heavy Sierra snowpack is well underway, replenishing the state's reservoirs, a prime source of drinking water.

Senior weather.com meteorologist Nick Wiltgen noted the winter storm warning issued for the Sierra was the latest-in-season such warning by the National Weather Service in Sacramento since 2011.

To reiterate, this welcome May event is a tiny drop of drought relief.

(MORE: Strong El Nino Ahead?)

While often overstated and oversimplified to imply relief is certain, the developing El Nino may offer hope the Pacific storm track may not be blocked from California as often next fall and winter, when the real wet season returns to a thirsty state.



 

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