California

Showers Delay San Francisco Giants Ball Game But Won't Ease Drought

April showers delayed a ball game and prompted flood advisories as they scooted through California on Saturday but the overall rain totals won't do much to ease five years of drought, forecasters said. 

Light rain began falling Friday and scattered showers should continue into Sunday, with a slight chance of thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service. 

In San Francisco, a downpour delayed the Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game for 41 minutes.

In Central California, where up to 2 inches of rain fell, the National Weather Service issued flood advisories until 3 p.m. for Merced, Mariposa and southwestern Tuolumne counties.

It was relatively dry in Northern and Southern California, with drizzle in the San Francisco Bay Area. No more than a quarter-inch of rain was expected to fall throughout the day.

Ernesto Munoz, 56, of Hollywood welcomed the chance of showers.

"It's a beautiful day, you know? We need the rain anyway,'' said Munoz as he walked his two Huskies, Whiskey and Brandy, on Sunset Boulevard. "I don't have any problem with that. I say, 'Thank you, God' because we need rain.''

Zoe McGeary, 35, of Oakland came south to run the Hollywood Half Marathon.

"It was raining when we left Oakland and it rained the whole drive down,'' she said. "I love it. I'm excited about it. Every time it rains I'm like, 'Please rain, and rain more.' The drought scares me.''

The coast, deserts, valleys, foothills and mountains could see anywhere from a half-inch to 1 1/2 inches of rain as a Pacific weather system moves over southwestern California, according to the weather service.

While the El Nino warming phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean brought rain and snow to California this winter, most of those storms hit northern areas including the Sierra Nevada while bypassing the southern half of the state.

Copyright The Associated Press
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