Welcome or Unwelcome Rainy Weather?
Over the past few years, California has received a lot of rain. Areas by Los Angeles have rained the most. The rainy season usually lasts from January to March. Most days it’s drizzling, but some days it’s pouring down hard and lasts a long time- sometimes a few days. On the weeks that are pouring heavily and it’s also windy, the weather forecast may say “flood watch” because of the worry of the large amounts of rain.
Even though the rain only lasts the first few months of the year, or in the winter months, it can be shocking to California
residents, especially those who live near Los Angeles where it’s raining more, of the amount of rain California has received. It can feel odd sometimes when it rains this much during these months because California is a warm state the rest of the year and can get very dry and hot, especially during the summer months.
So why has it been raining so much during these months?
According to an abcNews article, titled, “Historic California rain could foreshadow more extreme rainfall in coming weeks”, stated, “The city saw its wettest January day on record and wettest overall day in nearly 100 years on Monday with 2.73 inches of rain on Monday.”
The article later informed the reason behind the rain. It mentions, “The extreme rainfall event that hit San Diego and the rounds of heavy rain in the forecast, particularly for southern California, have strong connections to the current El Niño event that is in place.”
With this amount of rain, will it help prevent future droughts in California?
Ninth-grade SRA student, Bryan Esquivel shares his thoughts on this topic. He responded, “The rain will help
Photo taken on February 25, 2023, in Lake Elsinore. (Ellie Cobb)
California because the rain lets us gather and collect water for when droughts come.”
Another SRA student shares what he thinks about the rain possibly helping droughts.
Ninth-grade student Joshua Waddle stated, “ I think the rain would help California get out of the drought by granting water to places that don’t normally get that much water.”
Another person describes what he thinks about it.
Former Santa Rosa graduate, Mason Cobb, also agreed to it helping California. He stated, “Yes, we had a lot of rain this year so far and a lot of puddles are still here even weeks afterwards.
The Disadvantages of the Rain
With lots of rain, there are some pros and cons. Some negative effects from the rain have been flooding roads and highways which lead to people having to go a different route or get stuck somewhere.
Mason Cobb explains what he thinks of the rain. He put it this way, “I like all of the rain, but driving is really crazy in the rain. I could barely see in front of my car with all of the water.
Photo taken at Winchester in March 2024. (Madison Flores)
Also, it delays construction and in general, there’s not much you can do outside in the rain. Although the rain can be nice, some people prefer it to rain when they are at home and not at school.
Danae Limon, a freshman student at SRA, says what she thinks of the rain. She put it this way, “I think it’s sometimes cool when it rains at school, but it can get bothersome when it rains back to back. Walking from class to class in the rain again and again isn’t very fun.”
Inclement Weather Lunch Breaks at School
Another thing is that some schools like Santa Rosa, have inclement weather breaks during lunch. Meaning that when it’s lunchtime, students need to stay inside. At Santa Rosa, the students normally eat outside at tables under a big shade structure by the fields. So when it rains, they eat in the plaza instead and can’t play outside at the fields or on the blacktop. During this though, some teachers will open up their rooms for students to come eat in. Some students may like the inclement weather breaks but some might not because they can’t play outside as much.
Joshua Waddle explains what he thinks about the inclement weather lunch breaks at school. He put it this way, “I do not particularly like the inclement weather at school because having to be cramped and loud in the plaza and is hard to hear your friends.”
Another student shares what they think about inclement weather breaks.
Bryan Esquivel responded with, “I like the breaks because they give us time to relax.”
The Benefits of the Rain
Even though there are some downsides to the rain, there are a lot of good outcomes. One of the main great things that the rain has done was make the hills and fields so green and alive. California is pretty dry and hot the rest of the year. So it’s good seeing it green and lively. It’s nice to see all the pretty golden poppies on the hills by the side of the road. This is also a refreshing break from the heat in California.
Joshua Waddle responded with, “I like the rain because it’s calming to hear the rain drops hit the floor, and afterward there is an increase of plant growth”
One more great thing the rain brought was the snow. Just a few weeks ago, the mountains received so much snow. Even the mountains where you can’t normally see snow got a ton this year. Eventually, all the snow will melt, which is a lot, which will maybe help prevent droughts in the future.
Overall, even though the rainy weather can be annoying sometimes, most of the time it’s nice and people enjoy it.
Bryan Esquivel described it this way, “I like the rain because it can be fun to enjoy and sometimes I can play outside in the rain making it more fun.”
Altogether, the large amounts of rain, in California, have affected the area in different ways. It has caused negative things but also some really good things like the beautiful green landscape, the golden poppy flowers, snow, and a hope to prevent droughts.
Works cited:
Historic California rain could foreshadow more extreme rainfall in coming weeks – ABC News
