Weather

I always like to have a white Christmas. I thought it worked pretty well for us this year, even though we are in California.

We flew to B and L's place for Christmas and got to experience some "Christmas" weather, snow and wind when it is below freezing. We also attended B's graduation and then took part in their move to Washington DC.

We still needed more "winter" so we spent some time at B and R's in New York. After three weeks, we thought that we had experienced enough winter so we flew back back to California. Three weeks is about long enough, right?

While we were back east California had been having, well, California weather. The day we flew that changed. It cooled and they had some rain.

The thermometer stayed in the 60's or lower and then last Sunday night it decided to get really rainy.

I guess you could say that we are in the middle of the rain, however it has been harder up around LA. We got 1 3/4 inches on Monday within a few hours. There was a lot of wind with it. We went to the coastal side of the mountain about the time the storm was at it's worst. There were sheet of rain in places. Our wipers stopped before we got there, an old problem, but we made it okay. About thirty minutes after we got there, it just suddenly stopped.

Tuesday morning we went hiking on the hill. There wasn't any water running in the draws (we are close to the tops of the mountain) and the trail wasn't muddy. I guess rocks and sand don't do much for making mud. It started raining later and we got 1 1/4 inches. At one time we even had some hail. There was also lots of thunder. There were some water spouts spotted along the coast and even a tornado that flipped a car and did some other damage. We now had a total of three inches with forecasts of more to come.

Wednesday it started raining around 8:00 and continued all day. The next morning there was 2 inches in our gauge from the rain that fell all Wednesday and during the night.

So this morning, Thursday, we were up to five inches. Yes, it started raining again at 10:00 and in three hours we had another two inches, bringing it to the total of seven inches, the average annual rain fall for Yakima, WA.

It has continued to rain on and off since then. Yes, we are to receive more. Also today, there was another tornado that touched down in Ventura. It's path was about one and a half miles long but not very wide. It did some damage but fortunately, no loss of life.

As I am writing this, I'm also hearing thunder. I only have one thing to say. Do you know how much snow all that rain would be if it was colder? They have been getting lots of that white stuff up on the mountains where they ski. Yes, they do have some skiing not all that many miles from here.

If God is welling and the creek don't rise, you may hear from me again.