How much rain did we get?
Most rain gauges, official and unofficial recorded two feet or more of rain in the first three weeks of January, raising the likelihood of a 20-year high rainfall total before summer’s sun-and-fog returns.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 24, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (which covers Felton, Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek, had received 54.77 inches of rain during for the current water year (Oct. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017). During the 2015-16 water year the district recorded only 49.47 inches of rain.
Cal Fire in Felton reported a season total of 59.4 inches, compared to last year’s total of 51.21 inches.
Scotts Valley has received 57.42 inches this year. During the 2015-2016 water year (July 1 – June 30) a total of 47.06 fell in the city.
The National Weather Service was forecasting below average temperatures and above normal rainfall for the period of Feb. 1 – 7, and beyond.
Craig Heden, a long-time Bay Area weather expert, notes that the wet pattern is likely continue.
“A return to a similar setup as we had in January and December with high pressure ridging way up in Alaska looks to be a distinct possibility,” he said. “The probability of more storms next month is great.”
The Scotts Valley Water District, which pumps from the Santa Margarita groundwater basin, said it’s too early to tell if the rain has replenished underground resources diminished from five years of drought.
“The Scotts Valley Water District’s production wells are operating in the depths of 500-700 feet and it takes a while for precipitation to make its all the way down this deep,” said Piret Harmon, water district general manager. “Heavy storms are less likely to contribute to the groundwater basin because of runoff.”
San Lorenzo Valley Water District is fully operational and all customers have water service. The District did have a small main break in Felton when a tree fell Sunday morning that affected about four customers. Repairs have been completed.
Also, there were several power outages around the Valley during the storm, which meant crews had to get generators to pumps to keep service running to areas experiencing the problem.
