The San Francisco Bay Area is expected to see the first widespread rainfall event since April this weekend, but experts say it will not make up for the lack of water left by two consecutive winters of below-average rainfall.
The system descending from the Northwest Pacific could arrive as early as Saturday night, but the best chance for showers is Sunday morning after sunrise and afternoon and evening. Light and scattered rain could persist until Monday before the storm leaves the region.
“We haven’t had any rain so far in April so far, except for light rain and some rain in Napa County yesterday,” said Roger Gass, a forecaster in the Monterey office of the National Meteorological Service. “Overall, this will be the first large-scale rain we’ve had this month. In terms of the deficit, it’s going to be a drop in the bucket, but in terms of rain, we’re going to get what we can get.”
While the rain will not fill the local tanks half empty, it may contribute to the slight delay of the next fire season, which is expected to be particularly severe. “It will be good to water the soil and moisten things,” Gass said.
California and the Bay Area are facing water shortages; the state said winter 2020-21 was the third driest on record. Tanks across the state are half full. Since the beginning of the water year on October 1, downtown San Francisco has recorded 30% of average rainfall, Napa 37% and San Jose 35%, according to data from the California Nevada River Forecast Center.
The board of the Marin Municipal Water District voted Tuesday night to declare a water shortage emergency, said Jeanne Mariani-Belding, a district spokeswoman. It is the first county in the bay area to take a significant step towards water conservation.
The Council unanimously approved several mandatory water use restrictions, including a ban on car washing, electric washing of houses and buildings, washing sidewalks and alleys, flooding of gutters and much more. The restrictions take effect immediately and will take effect on 1 May. The council will review a limit for outdoor watering in two weeks.