Sunday morning, we received a Special Weather Statement:
“…PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY…
A weather front with moisture from former Typhoon Banyan will lift over the northern portions of Southeast Alaska starting Sunday night. Rain amounts with this system will range from one half of
an inch to one inch on Sunday night. There will be a lull in the rain amounts Monday morning before another period of heavy rain will affect the area from Monday afternoon through Tuesday
afternoon. Additional rain amounts will range from 1 to 2 inches with the highest amounts along the coast mountains.”
We’ve enjoyed rain for about a week now, gaining from .1 to .5″ a day. Our water tanks haven’t accumulated much, except the roof runoff tank behind the cabin. We don’t ever drink from that one, it’s strictly for garden water. Our summer water tank continues to dwindle, while our intake shows no change.
Before the rain came, on August 11th, I climbed up on the roof and cleaned the seams to prevent wicking leaks. Our handy little cleaning tool has mysteriously disappeared (see Leaky Roof) so I had to find a wire clothes hanger, and bend a make-do that proved barely strong enough to get me through the task. I’ll make a stronger tool soon, and will likely document it here.
The misting rain has been nice, though. We feel relieved that we didn’t go from dry to heavy dumping immediately. A gentle easing into moisture has improved the garden and compost, kept mushrooms from exploding too much in the forest, and avoided debris washes off the trail, flooding in the woodshed and the like.
Now, however, as the remnants of Typhoon Banyan move in to our region, we’ll get our water tanks filled in a hurry!