February weather in December (cabin, safe, backyard)

[BRinSM]

the amount of rain this early in the season is something different. i remember el nino sometime from the 90s where it rained almost everyday for months, but that was more towards spring (mar, april, may). this storm pattern we're in also isn't very cold, which seems odd. apparently the big bear resorts are closed because it's raining, not snowing in the mountains.

anyways, as for the proverbial 'freaking out' because of the rain, it's all BS. i don't know anyone who freaks out when they have to drive in the rain and nearly all my friends and family are here. it's really a myth that is propagated by the media as far as i'm concerned. the only issue i see is as mentioned above, some people don't adjust their driving habits to handle the wet roads. unless we're getting torrential rainfall (which is almost never), most people just go on their merry way and deal with it.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by readymade

Yikes! I take back my laughing. Evacuations called as storm saturates California - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_california_storm - broken link)

I don't get it, the rain really doesn't seem that bad! It's only been raining for a few days, and not that hard. Horrifying.

Being from Boston, you probably have a bit of a problem grasping the effect of elevation on water flow, so here's a short primer:

Mountains surround most of the population centers in So Cal. When I say mountains, I mean REAL mountains, not the small hillocks that pass for mountains in Eastern Mass. Natural drainage features called canyons collect the runoff from the saturated watershed in the tall mountains. These canyons drain into the valleys below the mountains and sometimes overwhelm the man made flood control devices (assuming any exist) . Evacuations ensue.

The above is 1000 times worse in the areas below recent wildfires.

And thus you have life in So Cal when it rains a lot.

THE END

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Fontucky, you know things...

Doesn't mean I remember stuff.

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

What year was it that LA got 6" in about 24 hours? '94 ish?

I don't remember. See what I mean?

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Also Remember the day Queen Elizabeth visited Reagan at his ranch?

Nope.

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

So how much rain have you gotten? Did they close any freeways? How about Disneyland?

At this point, South Fontana is at 1.20" since midnight and 4.18" for the month.

The only road closure I'm aware of (in other words, a road closure that might affect me) is the 241 toll road in OC.

[pacific2]

So how much rain have you gotten? Did they close any freeways? How about Disneyland?

Flooding, mudslides and rocks affecting roadways
Published: Dec. 20, 2010
Updated: 4:57 p.m.

Flooding, mudslides and rocks impact OC freeways and roadways | flooding, northbound, highway - News - The Orange County Register

[SandyCo]

In addition to what Fontucky said, you also need to keep in mind that while the coastal plain might get an inch or two of rain (over four inches so far with this storm system), the mountains are getting two to three times that due to orographic lifting.

Here is a rather complicated explanation, but it's interesting:

OROGRAPHIC LIFTING ON WINDWARD SIDE OF MOUNTAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Originally Posted by readymade

Yikes! I take back my laughing. Evacuations called as storm saturates California - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_california_storm - broken link)

I don't get it, the rain really doesn't seem that bad! It's only been raining for a few days, and not that hard. Horrifying.

[Lafferty Daniel]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Being from Boston, you probably have a bit of a problem grasping the effect of elevation on water flow, so here's a short primer:

Mountains surround most of the population centers in So Cal. When I say mountains, I mean REAL mountains, not the small hillocks that pass for mountains in Eastern Mass. Natural drainage features called canyons collect the runoff from the saturated watershed in the tall mountains. These canyons drain into the valleys below the mountains and sometimes overwhelm the man made flood control devices (assuming any exist) . Evacuations ensue.

The above is 1000 times worse in the areas below recent wildfires.

And thus you have life in So Cal when it rains a lot.

THE END

Thank you.

[Fontucky]

My pleasure.

[paladinking]

I do not like the weather in February! ! !

[jetgraphics]

In light of the risk from mudslides, is there a reason why terracing of hillsides is not practical?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jetgraphics

In light of the risk from mudslides, is there a reason why terracing of hillsides is not practical?

Which hillsides?
Who pays for it?

Lots of hillsides to terrace. Probably cheaper to accept the risk of occasional mudslides and not terrace every single hillside in the world.