Rain!

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Calfirecap
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Rain!

Post by Calfirecap »

I awakened to the sound of rain this morning, it's still dry under the logs and such, but it's a start. So I took my dog out for a walk up the street and came across a few of these Newts out on the move.
Image
A most welcome site indeed, and I hope it's heading south.
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gopher
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Re: Rain!

Post by gopher »

Hurrah for the rain indeed! I found two arboreals and two black bellies today :D
RobertH
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Re: Rain!

Post by RobertH »

Looks like the Bay Area is receiving its first good rain for the season right now. And it's supposed to keep raining off and on through Sunday. I am happy for your guys up there :thumb:

Not to put too much pressure on you guys, but we down here in the high and dry South want to see some results here - pictures, good ones and lots of them - on Monday, OK :evil: :lol:

Go get them 'manders!

Robert
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

Our storm was better for the period 24hrs ago (.9"); in the last 24hrs, .17". It's wet, but not to the point of creating vernal pond runoff. Now north of the bay is getting hit with this storm, so Marin/Napa/Sonoma folks should have some good critters. We need another 2" to entice the Ambystoma out of their holes.

2/7 4:00PM update .25" :thumb:
2/7 4:30PM ... .30"
2/8 10:00AM last 24hrs... .61"
2/8 5:20PM last 24hrs... .28"
hellihooks
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Re: Rain!

Post by hellihooks »

I got 'moist' (whatever that means... :crazyeyes: ) but it didn't last long (as usual) :lol: :lol: :lol: jim
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mattg
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Re: Rain!

Post by mattg »

Owen wrote:Our storm was better for the period 24hrs ago (.9"); in the last 24hrs, .17". It's wet, but not to the point of creating vernal pond runoff. Now north of the bay is getting hit with this storm, so Marin/Napa/Sonoma folks should have some good critters. We need another 2" to entice the Ambystoma out of their holes.

4:00PM update .25" :thumb:
4:30PM ... .30"
from what I understand you guys are getting a pineapple express storm, that's supposed to do 2"-3" sounds amazing . all we are getting down here is clouds :cry:
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gopher
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Re: Rain!

Post by gopher »

That rain sounds lovely up north! Makes me wanna head up (if it were possible).
But Matt the lack of rain has not stopped you :lol:
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El Garia
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Re: Rain!

Post by El Garia »

Yes, the rain up to our North does sound lovely! :lol:


- just winds and clouds here, today
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

yup! Last drizzle was at about 9:00AM. We're due a quarter to a half inch in Sunday's. It's all been North Bay in the last batch.

Image
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: Rain!

Post by Brian Hubbs »

That's a really pretty map...can I get a framed copy? :crazyeyes:
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

Disappointing totals in the South Bay, especially Santa Clara Valley. If I compare to last season Almanac (SJ Airport):

Oct 1 2012 to Feb 10, 2013 = 7.96"

Oct 1 2013 to Feb 10, 2014 = 1.94"

And last year saw little after January. Explains the still dry ponds and/or puddle ponds.
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mattg
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Re: Rain!

Post by mattg »

Owen wrote:Disappointing totals in the South Bay, especially Santa Clara Valley. If I compare to last season Almanac (SJ Airport):

Oct 1 2012 to Feb 10, 2013 = 7.96"

Oct 1 2013 to Feb 10, 2014 = 1.94"

And last year saw little after January. Explains the still dry ponds and/or puddle ponds.

Wow! , you guys got screwed all that rain and it couldnt go a little bit south , I heard there were some places that got 7+ inches and one place got 20!! :shock:
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

I know. It was better in the hills.

Time for another rain dance...

Image
mwentz
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Re: Rain!

Post by mwentz »

mattg wrote:
Wow! , you guys got screwed all that rain and it couldnt go a little bit south , I heard there were some places that got 7+ inches and one place got 20!! :shock:
My rain gauge here at work (Nevada County) said we got 10 inches of rain the last few days. A friend a few miles away said he got 14 inches of rain. Hopefully I can find some herps this week,
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Fundad
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Re: Rain!

Post by Fundad »

My rain gauge here at work (Nevada County) said we got 10 inches of rain the last few days. A friend a few miles away said he got 14 inches of rain. Hopefully I can find some herps this week,
All we ask from you Nor Cal friends is for you to share a little. 1 inch of rain would do us wonders, but instead you guys hog all of it.

Thanks alot..

We are still hurting bad and no rain in the forecast, ugh..

Fundad
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Calfirecap
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Re: Rain!

Post by Calfirecap »

Here in Santa Cruz Co we got anywhere from 1.5 to 10" of rain over the weekend which was a welcome relief, but we are still way behind the average. It was however enough to bring out the Salamanders, at least for the time being.
Here's a large Arboreal from some coastal grasslands from the area that didn't get very much rain.
Image
The next day I went out into the mountains were there was some good rainfall. It was an area where we did a vegetation management burn last November and I wanted to see the effects. I checked both the burn and non-burn side of the road and was happy to find Salamanders in both areas. I found a total of 31 Salamanders of 4 species in just over an hour. Here's a sample:
Another Arboreal (Unburned area)
Image
CA Newt (Unburned area)
Image
Banana Slugs (Unburned)
Image
CA Slender (Unburned area)
Image
CA Slender on ash
Image
Yellow-eyed Ensatina on ash
Image
Here'a photo of where we burned, about 20' in from the line and that's about as deep in as I went. It was a low intensity fire along the perimeter, but cooked pretty good in the interior. I'll have to check that part out on another trip.
Image
Here's a habitat shot of the unburned side, and yes there were far more Salamanders on this side. YE Ensatinas were the predominant species found in the burn.
Image
mwentz
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Re: Rain!

Post by mwentz »

Fundad wrote:
All we ask from you Nor Cal friends is for you to share a little. 1 inch of rain would do us wonders, but instead you guys hog all of it.


Fundad

Maybe you guys are overdoing it on the rain dances. I don't dance, for I fear that I may scare the rain gods away (it has scared girls away). I have the dancing skills of Elaine on Sienfield. (and I just dated myself with a 20 year old sitcom). :lol:
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Fundad
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Re: Rain!

Post by Fundad »

Sienfield. (and I just dated myself with a 20 year old sitcom). :lol:
Sienfield is 20 years OLD??? :shock: :shock: Please say it isn't soo..

Ugh..

I am afraid its going to be a lost year in So Cal.. :(

Fundad
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

Lost year up here too.

Here is the pond that had the highest density of CA Tiger Salamander eggs last year:

Image

Cows can drink 30 gallons of water a day :(
Zach_Lim
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Re: Rain!

Post by Zach_Lim »

The Tigers could aestivate down in the ground around that pond for a few years, right?
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

Zach_Lim wrote:The Tigers could aestivate down in the ground around that pond for a few years, right?
I'm pretty sure that they don't aestivate. I think they remain active down in the burrows all year. They also live quite a while, so I think they can weather a couple drought years, but I have seen quite a few really skinny newts, so I'm not sure of how great life is in their little caves. Insects under rocks and logs are still pretty good, but as it dries out further, I'm sure it will rapidly decrease.

What's really going to be bad off are the Bay Checkerspot butterflies. They basically live on one ridge and have only a couple host plants (dwarf plantain/owl's clover). The adults emerge this time of year and there have been no wildflowers blooming to date.
RobertH
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Re: Rain!

Post by RobertH »

From the NWS forecast for Southern California this morning:

"THE BIGGEST STORM OF THE YEAR AND POSSIBLY 2 OR 3 YEARS REMAINS ON
TRACK FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. IT IS REMARKABLE HOW CONSISTENTLY THE
MDLS HAVE HANDLED THIS STORM AND CONFIDENCE IS MUCH HIGHER THAN
NORMAL FOR A STORM THIS FAR OUT.

AT 12Z FRIDAY A 532 DM LOW WILL BE 600 SM WNW OF KSFO AND A NEG TILT
TROF WILL XTND TO THE SE FROM THE LOW. BOTH GFS AND EC MOVE THE TROF
AXIS UP AND INTO THE AREA FROM THE SW. MOST IMPORTANTLY A 993 MB SFC
LOW WILL SET UP 100 NM WEST OF PT CONCEPTION THIS WILL CREATE VERY
STRONG LOW LEVEL SOUTHERLY FLOW. GFS BRINGS A LARGE FIELD OF 45KT
SOUTHERLY WIND TO THE AREA WITH AT LEAST 40 KTS AT 850 MB.

RAIN WILL SPREAD OVER THE AREA FRIDAY MORNING AND IT SHOULD STEADILY
RAIN UNTIL AT LEAST SATURDAY EVENING. RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THE
HEAVIEST RAIN WILL BE DURING THE DAY FRIDAY (TIMING OF THE SMALLER
ELEMENTS OF THE STORM COULD CHANGE AS WE GET NEARER TO IT.)

EXCELLENT JET DYNAMICS NOT ONLY WILL ENHANCE THE RAINFALL BUT WILL
ALLOW FOR A SLIGHT CHC OF TSTMS AS WELL.

PRELIMINARY RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR THIS STORM CALL FOR 1 TO 2 INCHES
FOR COASTAL AND VALLEY AREAS WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES IN THE FOOTHILLS AND
MOUNTAINS...WITH EVEN HIGHER (MAYBE WAY HIGHER) AMOUNTS POSSIBLE
ALONG SOUTH FACING SLOPES."
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AndrewZ
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Re: Rain!

Post by AndrewZ »

yep, looks like a really good pattern change. fingers crossed for a "miracle march" or april.

Image
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mattg
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Re: Rain!

Post by mattg »

SWEET!!!!!!
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Fundad
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Re: Rain!

Post by Fundad »

Believe it when I see it, every "rain" forecast for the last two years has been more talk and less action..

>Holding Breath.

Fundad
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

I'll keep my fingers crossed. Looks like LA (2"-3") will get more than SJ (1.5") out of the next storm, but we have an extra storm following up early next week, so it could even out. It will at least grow the grass.
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LouB747
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Re: Rain!

Post by LouB747 »

Just arrived in Tokyo from LA. There's a pretty descent low pressure system off the coast. Hopefully a descent amount of rain in a few days.
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Owen
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Re: Rain!

Post by Owen »

It started around 8:00AM here. Light rain so far. It should pick up around noon. I found a 5-1/4" Batrachoseps while weeding on Sunday. They'll be on the crawl in the yard this evening.

I only saw one around the pool deck, but we only got about 5/8" rain here. I do have a 30 gal waste barrel full of water for my plants from this :D
Zach_Lim
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Re: Rain!

Post by Zach_Lim »

So much for me finding an early season Z in the nice warm sun this weekend, haha! Looks like a decent amount of rain the SF Bay Area. Guess I'll have to go for Dicamps....
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AndrewZ
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Re: Rain!

Post by AndrewZ »

http://www.southerncaliforniaweatheraut ... arch-1983/

"(Southern California Weather Authority.com) – Southern California is about to have one of the strongest dynamical storms in many years, with all the ingredients there for a severe weather event, including the possibility of tornado dynamics. Dynamics like this have not been seen in Southern California since March 1983, when numerous tornado reports across the Basins hit. The tornado environment is increasing."

hellihooks
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Re: Rain!

Post by hellihooks »

I ain't never scared... :twisted: I'm gonna be out in it, looking for the first ever SB mts aboreal... boooooo-YAHHHHHHHHHH :crazyeyes: :lol: :lol: jim
reako45
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Re: Rain!

Post by reako45 »

Herping season is saved! Premature in my assessment? Maybe. We're getting hammered right now. All we need is for a couple more 3 day stints like this in March and April. Let it pour.

reako45
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