Well, almost never. We just had a two day rain “storm.” We needed it, we are way behind the normal rainfall average these past few years, normal here means very low by east coast standards, rainfall average . In western Ma we looked on a rainy day as a common occurrence, and often an annoyance. Here we look forward to rainy days as it brings some relief from the otherwise arid conditions.
Did I mention why I moved to San Diego? One big reason was the weather. I left 100″ of snow on the ground in MA, to walk on the beach here in shorts and a T-shirt in February, 2004. I had developed a sensitivity to the cold, with severe pain in hands and feet, and also an aversion to shoveling snow. I bought a sailboat, a life long goal. Friends and family applauded my decision, and friends (new ones) and family magically appeared out here. All in all, a “good move.”
Weather reporting, in New England, is an adventure compared to SoCal. As Mark Twain put it, if you don’t like the weather, wait an hour. With the frequent wide swings in temperature and precipitation, and the full gamut of seasonal changes, wet Spring, hot Summer, cool Fall, freezing and snowy Winter and finally the month long mud season, the weather forecasters really had something to talk about. Of course, in that area, long term forecasts were really risky, but we would listen and watch, and make our outdoor activity plans accordingly. That could be risky, also. Our car trunks were usually equipped with an umbrella, a snow shovel, tire chains, cold weather shelter, blankets, etc. for the possible weather induced problems.
In San Diego, we have a plethora of weather forecasters, most are the young attractive women, tight dresses, same as elsewhere, except, they rarely have any new information to impart. A few degrees up, or down, a few mph more or less, the hourly (it seems) forecasts are the same, day after day, week after week. Now, Wife says she really likes the Fall, does not like the cold winters here, and loved this past rain “storm.” After 10+ years, I think I can detect a slight drop in average daily high temps in the winter months. I was famous my first month, Febraury, in Coronado, for my shorts and T-shirts on the beach ( “oh, he’s from New England” my friends would say). Maybe my problem is that I was accustomed to the 100-120 degree differences between winter and summer highs in MA. Do not get me wrong, I do not miss the cold, avoid it at all costs. But, cold is cold, not “but honey, it’s going down to 56 tonight.”
I have seen storms. Hurricanes, which are extreme. But without (choose two or more) driving rain, high winds, thunder, lightning, big temperature change, hail, or gutter flooding, need for rubber boots, etc., I don’t call a rainy day a storm. Technically, a meteorologist might refer to the counterclockwise circulation about a low atmospheric pressure center as a storm. That could be a hurricane, or all the way down the severity scale to the series of showers that we just had. It’s a matter of degree. But when I use the term, storm, I have a mental picture of weather that is, oddly enough, STORMY!
Now, wild fires are a different story. We did not have them back east. There was one forest fire in a state park near my home in 30 years, small, self limited, barely made the news. I must admit, I was glued to the TV reports here, last spring. The drama, personal loss, and efforts of the firefighters was gripping, to say the least. It rivaled a hurricane any day.
Our arid environment brings many challenges. I love green. Green grass, green, trees, green shrubs, comes from the thirty years spent in a New England landscape, 95% forests and lakes, at least three seasons of the year. (Gray and white the other season.) The water situation has required several changes. We have postage stamp lawns, drought resistant plantings, more pavers and concrete on the ground in our plot than in an average block in Pittsfield, Ma. But, 1/10th the water use. We are careful to irrigate sparingly, use a broom rather than a hose, turn off the automatic sprinklers when it rains, rare as that is.
Still, there are problems. Wife and I are in constant fear of the neighborhood “water police” that might report my sprinkling of water on the patches of new grass seed, or the plantings that are struggling. I occasionly get the stink eye from walkers-by who “catch” me using a hose to water containers 15 minutes after the 10AM cut off time for watering landscaping. I think they feel the “water” their pets contribute to our yard, in the form of grass-toxic urine, gives them the right to criticize my use of extra 2 gallons per week for my container flowers, some of which they pick, in passing.
Oh well, who am I to criticize. I walk down sidewalks streaming with overflow from poorly regulated sprinkler systems, some so profuse that the runoff is muddy from dirt washed out of planter beds. I have to step around sudsy puddles from people washing their cars in the streets, driveways, and alleys. I walk in the street to dodge the irrigation systems that would otherwise soak my legs if I stayed on the sidewalk. Am I annoyed by this hypocritical behavior of my neighbors? They decry the use of water for agricultural purposes, rather save the tiny minnows in the Sacramento Delta. They complain about the recreational use of water at Legoland and the Disney Parks, but I bet their children and grandchildren have great fun there, as I know mine do.
I didn’t plan to rant. Sometimes it is not easy to avoid here in CA. There is plenty of water on the west coast of this country, it just needs to be distributed better. Hopefully our government leaders will realize this before it is too late. Another approach, cancel the wasteful spending on the bullet train, build desalination and water recycling plant, instead. Anyone agree?