Batten down those hatches, because it's about to get seriously wet around here (again). It turns out that the forthcoming storm is going to be significantly larger than first predicted. How much larger? Well, meteorologists think that over the next 10 days we'll see double the entire month of March's average three inches of rainfall.
Rain should start tonight on the lighter side, notes the National Weather Service, but will likely be with us for a while. Over the next week and a half six inches of rain is expected for coastal areas, and 10 inches is possible for areas with higher elevation. So reports the Chronicle, which spoke with a forecaster for the NWS regarding what we can expect.
“There’s just a series of very notable rain systems that will be plaguing us throughout the weekend,” Bob Benjamin explained. “People should be getting prepared for a very, very wet period.”
If the predictions turn out to be accurate, we may just blow the last "Miracle March" — loosely defined as getting at least six inches of rain in the month of March — out of the water, so to speak. The last Miracle March was way back in 2006.
And so it looks like we may not have hit peak El Niño after all, and some forecasters' predictions that February's sunniness was merely a lull were accurate. Either way, we're not out of the drought yet — state reservoir levels are still way below the 90 percent capacity that would signify the drought is over.
So stock up on snacks, your preferred beverage of choice, and get those Netflix queues ready — you may be stuck inside for a while.
Previously: Weather Report: El Niño Maybe Not Quite Finished With Us Yet