They told us this would be a big storm and they weren’t lying. Wow! The rain has been pouring down since yesterday afternoon and today it’s been brutal. I’m guessing we’ve had at least 4-5″ so far today, based on the water in my pool. And this is just the start. I’m happy that we’re getting rain, but this is unbelievable! The weather forecasters are predicting between 15-20″ of rain by the end of the week and are saying that the storm that will make it’s way through the area on Thursday will be the biggest to hit in decades!

The hillside above Sierra Madre is already starting to give way and lots of mud is pouring down the roads. I think a lot of people will be impacted by this as more and more mudslides occur. I think my house will be okay since none of the fires in the past few years were directly above our area. However, the ground is already saturated and the corner of the floor in my family room is wet…not from a roof leak but from water buildup outside that is leaking in where the foundation meets the wall of the house. I’ll try to fix it by doing some caulking when things dry out, but that probably won’t be for another couple of weeks minimum. Also just found that the hearth in front of my fireplace is soaking wet! It seems there is so much rain that it is leaking down the chimney. The flue is closed, but it seems to be leaking in around the edges of the flue. Not dangerous, but I’ll have to keep it wiped up periodically.

The cats are fascinated by the raindrops since they’ve never experienced this before. I think they’re also a bit nervous since they seem to be following me wherever I go. I think they will probably get used to it as the week progresses, get in their beds (or mine) for the rest of the week while I’m at work and just sleep through it all. Wish I could do the same.