OT: Here come the rains again :(

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 12:50 pm

Looks like El Nino has another Christmas gift for us this morning. How are all you other Bay Area whistlers holding up? We were without power for most of last weekend (through Monday), and quite a few people up here in the mountains still don't have it back. Still, we've been lucky...we're high above any potential flood waters, and so far (cross fingers) we haven't had any trees down in our immediate vicinity.

Saw a shot of City Beach on the news last night (that's where the Boardwalk is, for those of you familiar with Santa Cruz), and it was completely covered with logs washed down from the mountains by the San Lorenzo...including one HUMONGOUS intact redwood (top, roots and all). How that made it all the way down the river without taking out a levee is anybody's guess.

Hope everybody's hanging in there OK. I fully expect to lose power again by this afternoon, and heaven only knows when they'll get it on again, so if I don't get on much in the next week, Merry Christmas to all!

Redwolf (who may soon need to change her nickname to "whistling in the dark")

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 4:53 pm

Man alive, I looked at the satellite data on the NWS site (iwin.nws.noaa.gov), and that's one mother of a storm.

You can always look on the bright side -- you're not having tornadoes -- any C&Fers in Mississippi or Arkansas?

A friend of mine, who grew up in California and moved east 6 or 7 years ago said something to the effect, "How do you guys deal with hurricanes, they're ten times worse than earthquakes." Having grown up on the East Coast and been through many hurricanes, I'll take them any day over earthquakes or tornadoes -- You know about hurricanes in advance, giving you time to evacuate, tape/board up the windows, etc. Of course, in California you've also got mountains, thin soil, etc, which complicates matters when you get hit by typhoons.

My thoughts are with you, whether in CA, MS, AR, or anywhere else that Nino guy is messing with us.

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 5:26 pm

Is this really an El Niño year ? Or is every new year said "Ninish" nowadays ?

PS: warm feelings to all you in trouble in the Bay Area. I'm sorry to hear this; if a part of US ever felt like home to me, it's there, and sometimes I even miss it.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 5:36 pm

Yes, it's really an El Nino year. The last one was about five years ago.

Amazingly, our power is still on, though we've had some heavy rain and even lightening (unusual in this area). If we're lucky, we won't get hit with the high winds this time...that's what got us good last weekend.

I agree that hurricanes are preferable to earthquakes, in that you know they're coming and can prepare for them (I was in Hurricane Fran in North Carolina). I'll take an earthquake over a tornado any day, however...and we had a lot more tornado warnings in Durham than hurricanes, being inland. I guess it's a matter of the devil you know being better than the devil you don't

Redwol

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 6:39 pm

On 2002-12-19 13:50, Redwolf wrote:
Looks like El Nino has another Christmas gift for us this morning. How are all you other Bay Area whistlers holding up

I thought of you last weekend when the rain was blowing parallel with the ground. My parnter at work lives in Santa Cruz and they were without power for days. As to how I'm holding up, I just had to cancel a father/daughter Christmas trip to San Francisco (an annual event for the last many years) because there's so much flooding here. I'm sure it's worse between San Jose and SF, so we'll try tomorrow.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri Dec 20, 2002 12:58 am

Well, this last one wasn't so bad for us. Lots of rain, and lightening too, but the winds weren't so fierce, and everything more or less stayed up, other than the odd flicker.

I'm hoping we'll get some respite before Christmas Eve...one of our favorite traditions is driving down to Pacific Grove, having dinner at Tillie Gorts, and then seeing the lights on Candy Cane Lane. We'd planned to go last weekend, but weren't willing to brave the winds (and figured the people on CCL probably didn't have power either).

Oops...perhaps I spoke too soon...I just heard another huge thunderclap!

Redwolf