We haven't broken any rain records yet, but the National Weather Service says the current system bearing down on California is the wettest pattern statewide in the past decade.
Rain has been falling for days, and it will continue to fall for the rest of 2010, according to the NBC Bay Area's weather department.
Monday's forecast is in the "weird" category, according to meteorologist Rob Mayeda. He says the forecast changes hour by hour and zone by zone. Some of us will see sun, while people just up the road will have a downpour with thunder and lightning. The rule for the day is to expect the unexpected and don't trust what you see in the skyline, that could change in the blink of an eye. Mayeda says the closer you are to the ocean, the wilder it will get.
The rain will stay somewhat showery with some sun mixed in into Tuesday before another round of widespread rain is scheduled to arrive later Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
Mayeda says Thursday and Friday we should catch a brief break from the storms, but there is another powerful system working its way toward the Bay Area for Christmas Day.
There is no real sign of the jet stream moving away from California all the way through the first week of January which means opportunities for rain will likely continue for awhile.
The rainfall totals are impressive. The Santa Cruz town of Ben Lomond has already seen eight to ten inches of rain with lots more in the forecast. The Monterey Bay area is at the northern tip of a moisture-rich subtropical air system that continues to stream in across the central portion of the state.
Local
A good rule for the rest of the year is to wear water proof footwear and keep that umbrella handy.
