As I write this our part of north central California is getting the first significant rain of the season, it is more than a mist or drizzle, fairly serious rain though no thunderstorm. Our part of the state gets rain only in late fall, winter, and rarely in early spring, and it's a good year when we get 20", most years get less.
We've been promised a wet winter this year for a change, courtesy of a muscular El Nino in the Pacific Ocean. If this is our first of many rainstorms, maybe we can fill some of our so-so-empty reservoirs and build a snowpack to see us through the summer.
The other DrC keeps track of when the first inclement weather of the fall strikes. It so often happens right around Halloween, this year missing it by just one day.
Decades ago when she still taught elementary school, her fifth graders would plan their costumes during the hot weather before Halloween. Then they'd be chilly on Halloween when it suddenly turned cool.
