First rainfall in Menlo Park since September 21, making for a long dry spell

The promised rain started out yesterday more as a constant spritz but picked up steam as the day continued, with a steadier patter on the roof come nightfall. “Hip, hip hooray,” emailed InMenlo weather watcher Bill Russ earlier this morning. “An even .5″ of water in my gauges. My season-to-date total is now 1.2”.

By the end of this afternoon, an additional .6″ had fallen. “My number for this storm is 1.2″ with 1.8″ season to date,” wrote Bill. “That compares to 2.7″ the same date in 2012.”