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With California experiencing the worst drought in decades, the recent rain is a welcomed relief.
Last weeks storm proved to be less aggressive than predicted but still produced great amounts of rain, causing localized flooding in many areas.
How much rain was produced?
Since the date of this report, December 16, Colusa County received six inches of rain, receiving an approximate 119,741,332,548 gallons of water.
Though a lot of water, the annual rainfall is far from historical averages; thus meaning a lot more rain is needed.
Reservoir levels have measurably improved, but are still not where they would typically be this time of year. The two largest reservoirs in California are Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville. Both are a little more than half of average for this time of year, and a little less than a third of full capacity.
As the rain fell, many local small streams, creeks, and city streets filled with water causing flooded conditions, traffic delays and road closures.
The Colusa Unified School District advised parents that nothing could be done about the large puddle that forms on the north side of Burchfield Primary School on rainy days.
” Apparently, when the storm sewers were originally installed, the outflow pipes were significantly smaller than needed. Because of those small pipes, the system simply cannot drain fast enough to keep up with the runoff from a storm,” said Colusa Unified School District Superintendent Dwayne Newman in a Facebook Post, ” At any rate, on rainy days please try to avoid picking up your child at the Lafayette / 4th Street corner just north of the BPS office. The pond which formed today was nearly a foot deep and the suction created by the drains beneath the water may be significant.
The Sacramento River crested at 66.19 ft. on December 13, far from its flood stage at 70 ft. and has since reduced. The river crested at 68.65 ft. on January 3, 1997 with its highest reaching 69.20 ft. on February 8, 1942.
For the rest of December, forecasters are expecting a wet month.