Storms could produce one-two punch, up to 2.5 inches rain
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This downspout splash block got just a bit of water this morning but it's likely
to be flowing during the rainstorms starting Thursday. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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Turn off the sprinklers! Our record dry spell is officially over – and the first big storm of our new water year is on its way.
Wednesday’s drizzly conditions are just a warm-up. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect a wet one-two punch, starting Thursday.
“Periods of heavy to moderate rain are possible late Thursday into Friday with our next storm system,” tweeted the NWS Sacramento office on Wednesday morning. “These (showers) could bring potential ash flows and debris flows to recent burn scars. They could also bring morning commute issues. The heaviest rain is expected north of I-80.”
Sacramento Valley is expected to get 0.5 to 1.5 inches in this first wave, says the weather service. Foothill areas could get 2 to 4 inches.
Expect “ponding of water on roadways and some minor flooding of poor drainage areas,” the weather service added.
Saturday may be showery, but mostly dry. Then comes another, colder storm on Sunday with rain expected through Tuesday. That storm is expected to drop at least an inch on Sacramento and snow in the mountain passes.
That adds up to 1.5 to 2.5 inches for Sacramento. If these storms deliver as expected, Sacramento’s October rain total will easily top its historical average of 0.95 inches.
These storms follow the longest rainless period in Downtown Sacramento history – 212 days. Before Sunday night’s light rainfall, the weather service’s Downtown Sacramento monitors had not recorded any measurable precipitation since March 19.
Details: https://www.weather.gov/sto/.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of April 20
Before possible showers at the end of the week, take advantage of all this nice sunshine – and get to work!
* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.
* Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.
* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.
* Plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Give shrubs and trees a dose of a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.
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