May 2015 Newsletter

Dear RRWPC Supporter:

You might as well consult a Ouija board if you want to know when the drought will end. In Sonoma County, we have been getting very confusing signals from weather patterns and rainfall amounts the last few years. While the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) claims we are in the fourth year of drought, rainfall numbers don’t necessarily bear that out.

Erratic rainfall averages during the last four years….

Normally, Santa Rosa gets an average of 32” of rain each season. (Santa Rosa’s data is the most readily accessible.) In 2012, Santa Rosa got 37.58” for entire year according to the University of California Cooperative Extension. In 2013, they had 4.85”, in 2014: 34.66”, and in the first five months of 2015: 4.33”, although we do not know what November and December will bring. So according to the numbers, in the last four years we have had two normal years, one very dry year, and this year is definitely lower than normal but may not be nearly as bad as 2013. At this point in 2012 we had accumulated 18.07” rainfall, and in 2014:17.41”, putting us far ahead of this year.