It’s been hard to remember the last time we’ve had the kind of winter we’ve had so far this winter.
In many recent years, during the drought, we barely got any rain. The big news during recent winters was about wildfires not rain storms.
You have to go back to the powerful El Nino years of 1997 and 1983 to recall San Diego winters with lots of rain, street flooding and coastal overflow.
And while an El Nino was predicted for this winter due to warming of the ocean waters was not expected to be as rainy as those two winters, we’re way ahead of our normal rainfall totals and we’re still in the middle of the winter season.
And it’s not just the rain with words like “full-on winter” being used by the National Weather Service to describe the snow storm conditions out in the mountains. But despite all the rain and snow this winter and the problems of falling trees, mudslides and flooding, there are some upsides to the weather this winter.
The chance of a major wildfire for the next several months will be way down.
And we are all getting a lot more chances to learn how to drive on freeways when there’s standing water, blinding spray from passing trucks, and the slippery ramps.
And of course for those who live here, who like a change of seasons, are a happy bunch.
The good news is that last weekend, the Punxsutawney groundhog didn’t see his shadow and that’s supposed to mean an early Spring.
(Photo credit C.E. Albert)