Highlights of the Current Season - July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009

          After a warm September, October brought in welcome moisture on the 4th, reducing the fire danger.

The Rain Gauge

          I keep these unofficial readings as a personal interest. I have seen our reading exceed other gauges that are located at lower elevations nearby, so I figured this might be of interest to others. For rainfall amounts up to 5 inches, I use a retail rain gauge. When amounts overnight are higher than 5 inches, I use, as a backup, a simple vertical wall bucket capable of holding up to 14 inches. I have to use the bucket at least a few times every winter. In years past, I was distrustful about the unusually high rainfall readings, changing gauges and trying various methods and locations to improve accuracy. However, after much experimentation, and then checking with our neighbors, I think we are simply in a micro-climate with more rain than other places. This is the Santa Cruz Mountains, after all. As the Weather Service says, we are in an "Orographically Favored Location." I think that means we get soggy when others simply get wet.

          During the 2005-2006 season, I added an electronic gauge. It sits next to the "analog" gauge. So far, it tracks very close to the old fashioned method of walking out in the rain and checking throughout the day and night. The electronic gauge reads hundredths better than the old gauge, so it is useful for that at least. I use both of them at the moment, and will likely use them both for the foreseeable future. You never know when the batteries might fail, after all.

          There is one official California Department of Water Resources weather monitoring site located nearby, at a slightly higher elevation. They match my readings here at 2200' fairly well. You can compare for yourself, at Ben Lomond Mountain (2630', three miles up the road from here). Their measured rainfall tends to be slightly less, but the temperature tracks pretty close to our location.

          There are also a couple of other nearby, lower elevation locations where rainfall is measured. One long-time measurement created by Ted Cantrall is here, and another very informative site, run by the folks at Anometal.com can be found here.

          As with most places in this region, we are in a "micro-climate". Ours happens to be very wet during the rainy season, due to our location, elevation and southern exposure to incoming storms. During large storms, average winds of 40 to 60 mph are typical here. In December of 1995, we had winds approaching 100 mph, and during February, 1998, peak winds approached 85 mph. The season is officially measured from July 1 to June 30, although rain usually only falls between September and May, a typical "dry and wet" seasonal pattern. Snow does fall here, but it is usually not more than a few inches at a time. The temperature range is not too extreme, and only falls below 25 degrees a few weeks every winter. 1991 was the exception, with lows in the teens for over a week. The winters of 1973, 1975, 1982, 1986, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 brought significant snowfall.