Drop in the bucket still helps, even if just a little

Rain brought welcome relief to Carson City greenery and residents Tuesday, though it was insufficient to make even a dent in the ongoing drought.

“Think of it this way,” said Dawn Johnson, a meteorologist at the Reno office of the National Weather Service: “If you filled a thimble and put it in a bucket, it’s such a drop in the bucket.”

She said reports in the area were from a trace to a few tenths of a percent fell by mid-afternoon. Other sources indicated in Carson City it may have amounted to as much as two-tenths of an inch or more, but Johnson said more information would be known at end of day Tuesday. The forecast, however, had precipitation chances dropping from 70 percent early in the day to 20 percent overnight.

Because it was the first appreciable precipitation here of this year, however, Johnson acknowledged despite the fact it won’t make much difference in the longer term drought, “every little bit helps.” It also made Vern Krahn, parks planner with Carson City’s Parks and Recreation Department, thankful the skies finally opened no matter how brief the showers turn out to be.

“We have truly been blessed with this rain,” he said as it came down. He was enthusiastic it was steady rather than a gully washer with runoff reducing any benefical impact.

“With this kind of rain, which is a steady and persistent rain, it takes away the need for our guys to go out and do a lot of watering,” he said. “A slow and steady rain allows the water to soak down and percolate.”

He said it helps parks, golf courses, lawns, plants, trees and grasses after an extended period without significant winter precipitation. It was all too brief, however, and likely was going to remain so, according to the weather service.

Johnson said the outlook for today is partly sunny and nothing serious in the form of rain or snow seems to be building for the area any time soon. She said it’s possible but far from probable later in the week. She kept her precipitation chances percentage estimates low, talking 5 or 10 percent.

The forecast not only calls for partly sunny with a high in the low 50s today, but for a similar day on Friday and a sunny day with a high of 53 degrees Saturday.

Next week will bring temperatures in the 50s with partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies in the first half, but little chance of precipitation until Tuesday at 10 percent and perhaps 20 percent next Wednesday and beyond.