If the Japanese had wanted to successfully invade Southern California back in 1941, all they would have needed was a little rain because that's all that it takes to drive these people into mild insanity.
Just so you know, it's been raining since yesterday morning and it's pretty sad.
Hey kids, if you want to see how a typical Southern California reacts to rain, go find a snail and throw a dash of salt on it's head. Watch it real back, writhing in pain as the salt begins to eat away the flesh — It's just like that!
In fairness it does tend to be a little dry here.
Until yesterday it had not rained in Southern California since last February but this is natural because almost all of this area is a desert climate. The only reason this place looks so green (the landscaping in Orange County is way, way over the top) is because California has successfully diverted the Colorado River from reaching Arizona.
Take the 'imported' water away and this place (palm trees and all) will shrivel up like a giant raisin.
But today we have too much rain. Not enough to send Santa Monica mud sliding into the Pacific Ocean, but enough that all the local news programs officially launched their version of STORMWATCH 2002, complete with a flashy graphics package and contemporary soundtrack.
Not since Operation Desert Storm have I seen so much over reaction from the media (except for that OJ thing). Almost every morning the weather reports go pretty much the same. After talking about coastal fog for a few minutes they bring up the radar after heavily name dropping the brand and make of their equipment:
"...now let's take a look at our up-to-the-minute picture from the Official ABC 7 Doppler Radar 7000 Crystal Scan."
You can just imagine how excited meteorologists get when the weather does something other than, "sunny with a high of 82 and a low of 64". I keep expecting one of them to actually loose control and pee his pants from all the excitement.
The largest consequence to rain is traffic. The Southern California lifer becomes a dangerous projectile when driving an automobile in the rain. Once the wet stuff hits the pavement these people tense up as if they were walking across shattered glass and traffic comes to a complete halt.
The problem is compounded by the occasional import driver from Arkansas who thinks he/she has got what is takes to become the next Knightrider.
My only form of solace from this craziness is that Disneyland will be open until midnight tonight and I already know it's going to be empty with no lines and nobody to get in the way of riding Indiana Jones over and over again. Not even the Imperial Japanese could keep me away from that.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
The smog doesn't effect Californians...but bouts of rain do? Wow. A bit different in Florida.
Being from Chicago and then having lived in Maine for a while, it always cracks me up to hear Californians complain (or evem marvel) about the weather, particularly on the news.
I was telling my soon-to-be father-in-law, who grew up in Hawaii and now lives in the Bay Area, how poor most Californians are at driving in "inclement weather." He said in complete seriousness, "why would anyone want to live in a place where you had to get used to driving in snow?"
I responded, also in complete seriousness, "Yeah, said the man who grew up on a volcano and now lives in a state destined to fall into the ocean."
No one can argue with the weather in most of California, but the meteorological snobbery it produces is pretty damn funny.
There's rumor going around that you only live ten miles from Disneyland. Is that true?
It's more like 8.25 miles but 10 sounds so much better.
Do they drop their jaws in horror when you tell them of that mythical white stuff called snow?
Shortly after I moved here the temperature in Santa Anna dropped close to freezing one night during a rainfall. The result was wet, wet sleet that started to accumulate but as far as the citizens of Santa Anna were concerned it was snow.
That night the local TV station went to a live remote where gang members were giggling like school children as they tried to make angels in the slush and sleet.
It was pretty pathetic but keep in mind that when the temperature drops to 45 these people start wearing winter parkas.
I like the rain. It reminds me of Oregon. By the way, we really need to coordinate topics. I was going to write about rain too.
Cute. Californians moan about a rainy day. Move to Sweden (where I live) if you want to get some real weather. Autumn is wet and cold. Winter is roughly 4-5 months, mixingly snowy and rainy. After that comes Spring with more rain. Summer - which (if were lucky) stretches on for about 2-3 months mixing good weather with rain.
Cute. That's all I have to say (and don't ask me why I live in Sweden, 'cause I really don't know).
Talisyn, I lived in Alaska for 22 years so I know exactly where you are coming from my Arctic Cirlcle Brotha.
I do miss weather changes cause it happens so rarely here but I do not, in any way, miss the darkness that descends upon the north during Winter.
Yucky.
I like weather. I like snow. I like it when you can tell what season it is by the weather. SoCal has no weather. It's hot and sunny all the time. OK, sunny weather is nice, but it is even nicer if you have something else sometimes to compare it against. You know what's weird about seasons though? After 20 something years living in Alaska (and going to High School with Greg) I live in South Africa now. The weather is starting to get hot here now. Summer is coming. That's weird.
Hey James! Apparently living in South Africa has affected James' ability to form a coherent comment. I'm betting that it probably has something do to with how the water drains counter-clockwise. Now that is weird.
8.25 miles, eh?
I'm sure if you took a right at Trader Joe's instead of a left, you could make up the diffference.
I wouldn't be so worried about rain, here in the mid-west we are having droughts!
I lived in Venezuela for 2 years (average temperature 88 degrees with almost no variation), and when I came back to southern california my teeth started chattering in 68 degrees.
Like it or not your body adjusts to the weather you live in. It isn't just Californians being wimpy.
Now I have lived in Utah a few years and the winters don't bother me at all.