Rainfall Box Score

You don't have to know me that well or that long to know that I am a sports fan. I'm most passionate about baseball--I grew up a Mets fan, but for the past 20 years I've bled green and gold for the Oakland A's. I also follow football-New York Giants; basketball-Warriors and Stanford women's and men's teams; and soccer-Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday and whatever team catches my fancy during World Cup. I am a loyal fan, sticking with "my guys" through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Part of being a true sports fan involves reading the sports section of the paper each day, checking the box scores and the standings. During the baseball season I also keep up with the top performers in each league with the listings provided each day.

My friend Stuart pointed out to me that I follow the yearly rainfall totals in the same manner, pitting the current totals against both last year's at the same time and the normal for the date. As weird as that is, I have to admit that he's right.

To the right you see the chart that appears on the weather page of the SF Chronicle each day (it's not on the online weather page, only in print). Listed for the major California cities are the totals for the last 24 hours, for the season-to-date, for the season-to-date last year, and for the norm-to-date. The last column lists the normal season total.

I've circled the San Francisco stats--for a larger view, click on the photo. We've been in a dry spell, so there's no current rainfall, and to date we're behind the season norm and way behind where we were last year at this date. I remember last year noting how far ahead we were of the normal to date. So you can see how I do indeed follow this like it is a race, relishing being "ahead"; hoping for a better showing when we're "behind."

Living in California makes me conscious of the need for rain in its season, since the rainfall stops once summer arrives. Having a Jewish spiritual practice enhances that awareness, as the prayer for rain is included in our liturgy during the fall and winter. Being a sports fan gives me the perspective to look at the specifics of the rainfall, recognizing the need for the good and bad times to balance out.

So LETS GO RAIN!!!! At this point in the season, we need to catch up.......