GILROY
– Seattle is known for being the rain capital of the United
States, but for the month of April Gilroy nearly matched it by
recording the largest rain accumulation in 20 years, according to
the National Weather Service.
GILROY – Seattle is known for being the rain capital of the United States, but for the month of April Gilroy nearly matched it by recording the largest rain accumulation in 20 years, according to the National Weather Service.
During the month of April, 2.54 inches of rain were reported in Gilroy – 2.35 more inches than in April 2002. Seattle saw a total of 2.74 inches for the month of April.
Gilroy has not experienced more than 2 inches of rain in April since 1983, when 3.27 inches were recorded, said Diana Henderson, forecaster at the National Weather Service.
Out of the 30 days of April, 16 of them were spent under umbrellas, with an average high of 66 degrees. April of 1975 was the last time temperatures reached that low, Henderson said.
“We are still currently in the El Niño pattern,” said Steven Anderson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “That is why we have seen more rainfall within the past month. We were experiencing cold cycles of low pressure from the Gulf of Alaska, which made it cooler.”
The overall mood in Gilroy has been a little gloomy because of the rain said Karen Covington, manager of Garlic City Coffee and Tea in Gilroy.
“My customers come in and say they are very tired of it,” Covington said. She says early morning commuters who get coffee tell her they want to see the rain stop because it makes their drive hectic and dangerous. “They just want spring to be here,” Covington said.
Economically, South County is not happy with Mother Nature, and businesses such as Baskin Robbins – who cater to sunnier weather for their cool treats – are suffering.
“People don’t buy ice cream when it’s raining, and our sales are down $6,000 for the month of April,” said Jim Richards, owner of Baskin Robbins at the Cochran Plaza in Morgan Hill.
JV liquors, which relies on the sale of beverages for outdoor events, say they too have seen a 20 percent drop in sales compared to April of last year.
“We are a beverage store , and people just don’t buy refreshments when it is raining,” said Owner Alan Sulaiman.
He says that on Monday six beer kegs were reserved for Cinco de Mayo, but all of them were canceled because the weather was so poor.
So if people are not getting ice cream and refreshments, are there any May flowers from these April showers?
Ted Uchida owner of Zen’s Flower Garden says his supply of flowers is flourishing and beautiful, but unfortunately with all the rain people are not spending time outdoors and working in their yards.
His sales are also down from previous Aprils, and he says most people who usually buy flowers and plants in April are not coming into his store.
“People don’t want to think about their yards when it is raining,” Uchida said.
So if people can’t work in their yards, they won’t be playing on the ball fields either. Gonzalo LaFuente, president of Gilroy’s Little League International organization, says the weather is impacting the organization in a large way.
“The directors are scrambling to see how they are going to make up the games,” LaFuente said. “Some teams have to make up to three games now.”
He says the games must be finished by closing ceremonies on June 14, and the leagues will have to play double-headers to achieve this.
“It is very frustrating, and I just want them to be able to play,” LaFuente said.
For a few businesses the rain can be a positive thing. Mark Blohm, a dispatch captain at the Santa Clara County Department of Forestry, says firefighters are pushing back the start of fire season from May 12 to the 26.
On the downside though, he says the rain causes the grass to grow taller, which could lead to a greater fire risk in the summer months.
Blohm says people should be clearing a minimum of 30 feet around their homes to prevent summer brush fires from occurring.
The extensive weather has also caused the Sierra Nevada snow pack to reach 108 percent of normal. Gary Barbato, a hydrologist at the Reno National Weather Service, says this is expected. He also says the snow runoff from the mountains is not creating a problem for the Lake Tahoe Basins water levels.
The National Weather Service says that South County can expect to see an average level of rainfall for May, but while this seems to be a positive outlook for many people in Gilroy, others like Richards say it is not soon enough and they will be have to work a lot harder this month to make up for the sales they lost in April.
