Gilroy has seen 21 days of measurable rain; some reservoirs
spill over
Gilroy – Imagine waking up every day to more of the same, like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.” If you are a Bay Area meteorologist – that’s what it feels like.
“We just keep getting cold front after front coming through,” said National Weather Service forecaster Brooke Bingaman. “Our weather pattern is kind of stuck at the moment. Typically, we’re not stuck in a pattern like this for more than 12 to 14 days. We’ve been having it for more than a month now.”
Wednesday marked the 21st day of measurable rain in Gilroy during the month of March – a new record, breaking the 1983 record of 20 days.
“Various locations around the globe are experiencing the same weather patterns,” Bingaman said. “Australia is experiencing the same thing. We don’t know what needs to change.”
Additional cold fronts with precipitation are expected to move through the area Friday, Sunday, and again Tuesday, she said.
The Lexington, Uvas and Vasona Reservoirs have already spilled over. And as of press time Wednesday, Chesbro Reservoir was 99.8 percent full.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District opened the gates of Anderson Reservoir in preparation of the upcoming rains as the lake approaches capacity, gradually releasing water into the Coyote Valley streams.
“We have been managing the reservoir so that they don’t fill too quickly,” said spokesperson Mike DiMarco. “That gives us time to make room in the reservoir.”
The gates may remain open today if rain continues to fall.
Anderson is at 97.8 percent capacity and may spill in the next week, however, there should not be much damage, DiMarco said, explaining that despite the continuous rainfall – there is not a lot of measurable precipitation accumulating.
Less than five inches of rain have fallen in March over the 21-day period, eight inches below the record set in March 1991 of 13.22 inches.
However, despite the amount, canceled due to rain is becoming all too familiar for the parents, players and coaches of Little League who have had most of their seasons rained out so far.
And 7-year-old Anthony Drysdale – a pitcher for the Nationals – has had enough.
“We have schoolwork and practice and video games,” he said. But no games. “It got rained out.”
The season began 12 days ago and some teams have yet to play a game, said Gilroy Little League President Christine Drysdale.
“The kids are depressed,” she said. “The parents and the coaches (are disappointed), but everybody’s in the same boat. There’s nothing we can do … I just had to cancel another game because the fields were too wet.”
To make up for the lost games, the league is trying to hold games at night, but the cost to rent the fields is too much for the Little League budget.
In the meantime, the parents, coaches and players will have to continue to show up for games and hope the fields aren’t too bad to play on.
“It’s not Little League’s fault,” Drysdale said. “It’s the weather. People need to be patient. The games will happen, it’ll just be later.”
Reservoir Capacities
Listed by Reservoir and Percent of capacity
– Stevens Creek 96.7%
– Almaden 83.8%
– Calero 82.1%
– Guadalupe 95.1%
– Lexington 101.7%
– Vasona 113.2%
– Coyote 63.6%
– Anderson 97.8%
– Chesbro 99.8%
– Uvas 101.8%
Information from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, as of 5pm Wednesday.
