Hollister
– The hills surrounding Hollister are turning green thanks to a
near half-inch of rain in the last five days.
Hollister – The hills surrounding Hollister are turning green thanks to a near half-inch of rain in the last five days.
The .44 inches of rain since Wednesday pushes February’s total to 1.04 inches, according to the National Weather Service. That’s well below the historic average for February, which normally receives 2.71 inches of rain.
But coming on the heels of record dry weather in January, the recent wet weather is being welcomed by San Benito County’s farmers and ranchers.
“We’re still not out of the woods yet, but we can see some daylight.” said Tom Tobias, a Tres Pinos rancher.
Ranchers winter rely on rain to grow pasture grass to feed their cattle. If the dry weather of January had continued, ranchers may have been forced to buy supplemental feed, Tobias said.
“You can supplement for a month or two in the fall, but at this time of year if you have to buy any supplemental feed you’re not making any money,” he said.
Forecasters predict more rain over the next few days, with a 80 to 90 percent chance of rain Tuesday and more showers Wednesday.
Rick Canepa, a forecaster with the NWS, said an Arctic air system has brought the recent showers and strong winds to the central coast. The NWS has also issued a snow advisory at 2,000 feet from 4pm today to 10am Wednesday. That’s low enough to dust the Diablo Range, he said.
Most years, Hollister’s rainy season starts in November and runs through March.
But this year, November, January and February have all been unusually dry. Just .71 inches of rain fell in November, compared to the month’s historic average of 1.87 inches. January, normally the wettest month of the winter with an average of 2.86 inches of rain, brought only .18 inches. This year, only December was wetter than usual, with 1.91 inches of rain, compared to the month’s average of 1.65 inches.
In a typical year, Hollister receives 84 percent of its annual rainfall – or 11.46 inches – between November and March. With 2.55 inches since the beginning of November as of Monday, Hollister is at 20 percent of normal for its rainy season.
Even if this month is drier than normal, it won’t rank among the driest Februarys of all time. No rain fell in Hollister in February 1953, according to Jim Ashby, a climatologist with the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nev. The second driest February came in 1997, when only .23 inches of rain fell on Hollister, he said. Last February, 1.11 inches of rain fell in Hollister, Ashby said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or mv*********@fr***********.com.
