Saratoga News
News
Rain, rain go away--well, it looks like it won't for a while
By Jason Sweeney
Chris Speidel was enjoying the sunshine on Big Basin Way during a break in the rainfall. Speidel, from Colorado, was here on vacation and had discovered Saratoga during a trip to Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
"The weather back in Colorado was better than it is here," he said. "It's put a little damper on things."
Santa Clara Valley Water District spokesman Mike Di Marco said countywide, rain totals were about 150 percent of normal for this time of year.
Di Marco said rainfall has been heavy, but flooding issues have not been serious. "There are a lot of operational decisions that need to be made on an hourly basis, but we've had no big problems. The creeks have been behaving real well."
Di Marco said Saratoga presents some challenges due to the number of creeks coming down the hillsides. "All it would take is a tree going down, blocking the flow of water and sending it into the roadways and into people's homes."
During the dry times of the year, the water district prepares for heavy rains by maintaining creek beds and keeping them clear of debris, Di Marco said. District crews are out during the rains watching for problems.
Saratoga Public Works director John Cherbone said Saratoga has avoided serious rain-related problems this year. "We have had some minor mudslides and some local flooding, but nothing major," he said.
Saratoga street maintenance supervisor Rick Torres set up a rain gauge in his maintenance yard last year. He has recorded 25.85 inches of rain for Saratoga so far this rain year. Last year at this time he recorded 26.95 inches. Torres said the total amount of rain recorded at the end of last season was 28.95 inches. "The difference between last year and this year is that this year the rain has been more concentrated in March. Last year it was more spread out."
Rain years begin July 1 and end June 31 of the following year. Bob Benjamin, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, said San Jose has received 20.01 inches of rain since the start of the rain year. The norm for San Jose up to this point is 13.79 inches. The norm for San Jose for an entire rain year is 15.08 inches.
"Typically, I would expect Saratoga to get slightly more rain than San Jose because of the topography," Benjamin said.
Benjamin said San Francisco has the longest weather records in the region, going back to the mid-19th century. Records for Los Gatos go back to the turn of the 20th century. He had no data to offer comparisons specifically for Saratoga.
Los Gatos has received 23.43 inches of rain so far this rain year, Benjamin said. "The highest rain year recorded in Los Gatos was 52.98 inches in 1914. San Francisco set a record this year with 25 days of rain in March. The previous record was 23 days in 1904.
"The number of rainy days this year has certainly been exceedingly high. But the amount of rain, although impressionable, has not reached record proportions," Benjamin said.
Yves Casabonne, a property owner in downtown Saratoga, said all this rain is bad for business. "Some people need the sunshine to get the customers out. People don't come out when it rains like this."
Carlos Torres was out on Big Basin Way trimming trees for the Valley Crest Tree Company during a break from the rain. "We work when it's rainy," he said. "It's a little slower. You've got to be more careful, especially the ones who are climbing up in the trees."
This rain year has been a wet one, and it's not over yet. "Looking at weather patterns, we are certainly going to experience several more days of rain," Benjamin said.
