The forecast shows that it is going to rain steadily – and hard, at times – from today through Friday. There are apparently even going to be thunderstorms.
I predict the following:
[ul]
[li]My one-mile commute to work tomorrow will take an inordinate amount of time due to the horrendous driving that will result from the wet streets. [/li][li]The first three people I encounter in the office building will complain about how horrible it is outside. Included in the assessment will be the fact that it’s a “miserably cold” 60-degrees out.[/li][li]I will, despite actual efforts, be unable to avoid at least one newscast covering “Storm Watch 2010.”[/li][li]The above “Storm Watch 2010” coverage will include at least four field reporters in various, meaningless locations pointing out that – wait for it – it’s raining where they are. Same newscast will also include several gratuitous shots of cars driving through large puddles at big intersections.[/li][li]Someone who does something stupid will require rescuing from a flood control channel.[/li][li]I will forget my umbrella somewhere inconvenient.[/li][/ul]
This could work in my favor. I’m starting a new semester this week and classes are in terribly short supply due to the budget cuts, meaning I couldn’t enroll for any of the ones I really need to count toward my major.
But if you show up on the first day they usually let in a few adds, and people who are enrolled but don’t show up get dropped. And people don’t like to come to class when it’s raining.
(honestly I’m sure it will still be very, very bad. I just hope it’s slightly less bad because of the weather)
All kidding aside, the areas that burned in the last couple of years could be proper fucked by all this rain. We desperately need the snow pack, but a lot of people could see their homes buried in mud and debris (or 100 feet down a hill from where it was when the woke up in the morning).
This could be the biggest series of storms we’ve had in years- should be fun. Mental note- stay the hell away from the 405 this week…
I can understand driving a mile to work. Depending on the city there may not be sidewalks or safe walking conditions in that 1 mile distance or there might be a place where you have to cross a highway or something. Here in NY you can walk everywhere but that isn’t the case all over the country.
I’ve done it a couple of times. The downside is that I sweat easily, and I found out quickly that I really don’t like getting to my desk to start the day after having sweated. Seems silly, but I’d just rather drive and get my exercise other ways.
And I will be very grateful this week that I now have a car in addition to the motorcycle. I have found that I strongly dislike negotiating rush hour traffic in downtown LA on the bike, and even moreso in the rain (having almost dropped the bike twice in one day under such circumstances).
ETA: blondebear, I don’t listen to KFI, sorry! My thoughts always run to the KROQ clip of someone calling in and shouting, “OH MY GOD IT’S RAAAAAAAAINING!”
To be fair, much of LA does not have adequate street drainage. Those intersections can fill up very quickly and pose a serious hazard to anyone driving (don’t even try to walk across those streets, you’ll end up washed to the sea).
On a happy note, after years of leaking, my new roof was installed just 2 weeks ago!
That same rain is heading directly to Las Vegas - and weather forecasters are saying that if it really does come here as predicted, that could be 25-50% of our annual rainfall in one week!
To let you know how people here react - last week we had a grand total of 5 minutes of fairly heavy rain. I was teaching a class in college and the minute the rain started hitting the roof, as if possessed, my students all stood up and walked to the windows to look out at the rain.
I told that to friends in Illinois and NYC and they laughed and laughed - the idea of getting excited and stopping everything to look at rain?!
But hey, it’s a big deal here.
Plus, these are the same students who, when it “drops” below 60 degrees, start wearing parkas, shawls, gloves and warm boots. You would think they lived in the Tundra.
And yes, I predict “breaking news” stories:
Flash flood warnings all over the Vegas Valley.
A helicopter shooting live footage of some idiot standing on his car roof after driving into a river of water.
Accidents all over metropolitan Las Vegas, closing freeways and boulevards, due to drivers not aware that rain equals slick roads and even SUVs can’t stop on a dime when traveling 50 mph.
Reminders to turn off your garden sprinklers during rainy days.
Vegas can be absolutely gorgeous in the rain. I remember one time a few years ago, if you looked at Sunrise Mountain, the little mountain off the the left north of Nellis looked amazing.
But yeah, I hate the rain. It’s raining in Solvang right now and I’m disappointed because I was going to go for a walk today.
I had to go to the Dr. earlier to get blood drawn, and did not appreciate having to get out of bed on a rainy day, but I would have to miss work otherwise (LA County employees get MLK Day off.) When I came home, I found one of the trees in the backyard being whipped around by the wind, and my sister’s dog charging at it like it was threatening him and he was going to kick its butt.
And the homeless people who live in the storm drains in Las Vegas are going to have to move out.
In San Diego, they call it “rayne”- it happens so infrequently they forgot how to spell it.
As a joke, I bought my sister a rain gauge-she gets so excited to check it after it “raynes” .
I was born in Phoenix and I relate to that so well.
And after 20 years in Portland…I still love watching rain.
What I really love is sitting outside watching it it. The bummer, though, is that once it gets warm enough to sit on my back patio under cover and watch the rain…it stops raining for three months.
