“Bears, dragons, tempestuous on mountain and river
Startle the forests and make the heights tremble.
Clouds darken beneath the darkness of rain, streams
Pale with a pallor of mist. The gods of Thunder and Lightening
Shatter the whole range.”
– Li Bai, Chinese poet
We’re in the midst of a cold winter storm system. While here, rain, cold temperatures and low elevation snow remain in the weather forecast. It’s expected to remain through today, Thursday, and exit the region by late Friday afternoon. And … “It was good.”
As I was putting the final touches on Weather in the Foothills, for a brief moment in time the heavens opened up. Here in the foothills, graupel fell, leaving the landscape blanketed in white. (Graupel, aka soft hail, hominy snow or snow pellets, is precipitation that forms when supercooled water droplets are collected and freeze on falling snowflakes, according to Wikipedia.) To the south, blue skies prevailed. Gusty winds soon ushered the storm onward. Left in its wake were intermittent beams of sunlight breaking through the mostly cloudy skies, snow covered local mountains, cold temperatures and a rainbow added a magical touch to the spectacular.
Besides the excitement mentioned, the late-in-the-season rainstorm was a much-needed one. It seems as if this year’s rainfall has been brief and disappointing in the amount received. Since many areas have not received an inch of water in a long time, the soil (mostly rock) has continued to dry out. Most of us live atop a rock foundation due to floods emanating from the many nearby canyons. Only a little bit of natural soil remains, plus the amendments (mulch, fertilizer, etc.) we add. There is no question that our soil profile is considered to be dry, especially with the ongoing drought conditions.
What exactly is soil profile? Take a look at a roadside cut and you will see various layers in the soil. These layers are called soil horizons. The order and arrangement of these horizons in a soil is known as a soil profile. Soil scientists, also called pedologists, observe and describe soil profiles and soil horizons to classify and interpret the soil for various uses. Annual weather and climate – including floods, droughts and ice ages – over thousands of years are recorded within their layers.
Besides the present weather entertainment, has the current rainfall helped alleviate the effects of dry years? Unfortunately a single rainstorm will not break the drought. A light-to-moderate shower will probably only provide some surface or cosmetic relief; its impact is short term. Soaking, deep rains are needed and are the best medicine to alleviate drought.
It should be clear that the type and depth of soil along with the amount and speed of the rainfall event will determine just how effective the rain event is at re-wetting the soil profile. So please, Mother Nature, keep your faucets on!
Likely to linger through Thursday or even Friday is low elevation snow, a slight chance of thunderstorms, cold – in the mid 40s – hail and/or graupel and wind. The weekend is expected to be warmer – in the low 60s – but still cooler than normal conditions. Another round of rain is possible Monday or Tuesday. The storm’s intensity is still an unknown.
Next week, we’ll take a look at totals for the season. Wondering … do they make waterproof face masks?
Until then, keep the umbrellas up!
Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley
resident and Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.