April Showers

With the unseasonably cold and somewhat dry April this year, I thought it would be interesting to investigate the old cliche "April showers bring May flowers". This document looks briefly at four topics:

California Water

While California grows a large share of the food for the country as a whole, it is actually a semi-arid climate. For example, consider the weather for following large cities to the national averages. Note that California is significantly below the national averages both in terms of average water fall and days of rain.

1. National Averages:
   • July high: 86.7
   • January low: 27.0
   • Annual rainfall (inches): 36.3
   • Days / year with some rain: 110.8
2. Los Angeles Averages:
   • July high: 75.8
   • January low: 45.4
   • Annual rainfall (inches): 12.0
   • Days / year with some rain: 35.0
3. San Francisco Averages:
   • July high: 73.6
   • January low: 41.2
   • Annual rainfall (inches): 21.0
   • Days / year with some rain: 67.0
4. San Jose Averages:
   • July high: 78.6
   • January low:40.2
   • Annual rainfall (inches): 16.0
   • Days / year with some rain: 47.0

Wild Flowers

If it's true that April showers bring May flowers, what types of flowers might we expect to see in our fields and mountains and along our highways this month? Here's a partial list of southern California wild flowers found on the web at Wayne's Word:

1. California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica)
2. California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica)
3. Desert Beauty (Linanthus bellus)
4. Desert Five-Spot (Eremalche rotundifolia)
5. Devil's Claw (Proboscidea althaeifolia)

The photographs at this site are absolutely beautiful and it's worth a few moments of your time to enjoy them.

California Native Plant Society

The California Native Plant Society is an organization dedicated to the increased understanding and appreciation of California's native plants. Their web pages describe the wide variety of information and activities available to members and, of course, information on how to join. There is a Santa Clara valley chapter for those interested. They also have alot of information about gardening with native plants and run a nursery up on Skyline Blvd. in Woodside where you can purchase native plants for your garden.

References

Here are several references available on the web.

California Water Resources

http://www.water-ed.org/briefing.html
Water Education Foundation: California Water Issues Briefing
A paper that discusses some of the political and environmental issues concerning California's water systems.

City Weather

http://www.pathfinder.com/money/best-cities-96/
Money Online: Best Cities
This site lists Money's best cities for 1996. It includes the weather statistics for the California cities listed in California Water.

Wild Flowers

http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/flora/
CalPhotos: California Plants & Habitats
This site contains over 20,000 photographs of California plants organized by both their common and scientific names. (With 20,000 photographs, you'd think the California poppy could be in the collection! -- Actually, there are over 90 photographs of the California poppy under the common name of California poppy)
Wayne's Word
An excellent collection of photographs of the top ten wild flowers found in Southern California.

Rainfall

http://nimbo.wrh.noaa.gov/cnrfc/rainrun.htm
River Forecast Center
A listing of rainfall over the last 24 hours updated hourly.

Rain and Temperature Statistics

http://www.nwsla.noaa.gov/climo.html
Temperature and Precipitation Summaries and Maps
A longer-term statistical data on temperatures and rainfall in California.