Alan, you have the magic words, lol! 
This is SO rare for us to have a real winter weather pattern extending into May. A one-time event, sure, but repeated rainstorms this late in our season is so unusual. And, I heard NY and the New England states were in a mini-drought, that is so unusual. It might even be more impactful there, since our vegetation is sort of acclimatized to limited water. Even our non-drought resistance plants have developed a little more tolerance.
Any summer rains in CA won’t dent the drought. It will take multiple wet winters to do that. Rains late in spring and early in fall just cause fruit growers trouble. Fruit rots in spring and spoiled raisins in fall for example.
Substantial rains in SoCal give me 3 thoughts - possibly good desert flower blooms, landslides along the PCH, increased wildfires in late summer. I don’t know if that’s the way it will pan out. It’s just the way I remember things happening when I lived there.
I’m glad to see some rain for you. I bet lots of people are standing out in it. Hopefully you get more soon other than tomorrow. I have a friend that lives in Redondo Beach. He had his yard tore out and they put in stones with cactuses. He says it’s pretty much maintenance free now. He has a house down the road from me too. They are usually back by now for the summer but not yet. They have some condos in Oregon too. They get to fly free anywhere in the US, and have enough frequent flyer miles to go to Europe every year. He has two apple trees in cal. He says they’re still alive, but one is on the way out. He needs to get here and mow his grass! Lol.
Certainly true that it won’t be refilling any reservoirs, but it should result in a decrease in residential water use for irrigation. If everyone remembers to turn off their irrigation timers, I would assume that a week with minimal landscape watering would be a not-too-insignificant decrease in residential water use this week.
No significant dent, but some dent because these rains that are coming in are winter storms. Which means temps are very low for us this time of year. Our high today was only 57. That’s pretty chilly for us here in sunny So Cal. And, it means the rain turns into snow in the Sierras and then out to the Rockies - our two sources of water. So, it is helping some because it is increasing the snow pack. Even if just a little bit. And, if we continue with these winter storms as Ulises has mentioned, that will add up for us. So, crossing my fingers this weather pattern will remain for a few more weeks. That would be a blessing for sure.
The benefits from snow pack continue long after any from rainfall.
Yes, the snowpack is critical. But, true as fruitnut stated, it’s still the proverbial drop in the bucket. But, we’ll take that drop. Better than a stick in the eye. We need this kind of rain - weekly and signficant starting in December, and running through May to make a dent. And, have that happen for 3 or 4 years in a row to get our reservoir levels across the state back up to normal amounts. It is really very frightening to see how low they all are.
But aside from the major issue of whether rain will end the drought, any rainfall that does occur waters the plants in our backyards, which is always a positive. I’m so bummed—rain was predicted for all day up here in Santa Cruz, but we aren’t getting ANY. And my plants need it! My husband and I are way under our monthly allotment so technically we can afford to water a few times a month, but for instance our neighbors have six people in one small house, two of whom are teenagers, so of course their allotment is all used up just on showers and the like. (You get a small extra allotment for extra people, but they still don’t end up with as much per person as when there are only two people in a house.) Which makes me feel kinda crappy about watering my plants when others can’t…I guess I’ll just have to bring them fruit from my trees to make up for it!
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It’s nice to get a little rain from this May Gray pattern. If we get a good soaking I might do my second spring fertilizer application to the lawn this weekend. Basically a mix of compost and Gro-Power 5-3-1.
I didn’t realize you were in Santa Cruz, Lizzy. Lovely area. One of my daughters went to UCSC back in the late 80’s. They didn’t issue letter grades then. Instead, they gave long narratives of what the student did in each class and an analysis of how they performed. Made for super long transcripts. I loved taking the coastal hwy route through the area.
I didn’t realize that additional people in the household did not get the same allotment. In that case, they must be figuring in a portion of the base allotment for outdoor use.
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One thing is for certain, its been a really odd weather pattern here one state over from you California people. The whole of 2015 so far has been strange. And weekly low pressure systems in May are almost unheard of here. Heck last weekend up in the mountains north of Phoenix they got snow! In May! And today in Phoenix Arizona our high temperature is lower than Anchorage Alaska’s high.
But we will take it. In El Nino years the big reservoirs we have top off and then they have to release water down the dry rivers. When they are releasing water us flood irrigation customers can get all the water we can use for free. And who doesnt like free? 
2010 winter spring was the last time that happened.
One thing I noticed was the jet stream dropped below CA, and by the time it hit’s us it is north of us. First time this year. So you guys are getting colder air than we are. Although our air is plenty cold already.
@MuddyMess_8a , yeah, I think there’s a base amount for the property, and then if more than two or four people, they add extra. Def an advantage to have a small household, and an advantage to never having had a lawn. UCSC is a good school, hope your daughter enjoyed it. I’m a “banana slug” (their mascot) myself. Theoretically they now have grades AND evaluations, but none of the profs do evaluations anymore.
These high amounts of rainfall have been keeping us busy in Kansas. I’m glad to hear California is getting some moisture now. We have not had this much water in years. We would gladly give some away now after the last storms which left us 8 inches. We have more storms on the way and are expecting 2-4" more tonight. The rivers, reservoirs ,& ponds all have plenty. My ponds were releasing 2,000 - 3,000 gph. I’m not accustomed to this much rain so I’ve been mowing more as well as doing all my other choirs. We are feeling fortunate.
Looks like it is continuing to strengthen:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/el-nino-to-be-one-of-strongest/50081969
When it strengthens faster it leads to cooler summers here in the mid-atlantic, which has certainly been the case after the early heat in June. A strong El Nino may also give us a warmer than average winter which would be nice for a change as well, although usually a bunch more snow which makes the kids happy but not my back. Guess I need to start training them for snow shovel duty.
Oh gosh, an answer to fervent prayer here in S. California, Zen, thank you so much for the update. It also means a cooler summer for us here on the West coast, which we’ve been having, and several of my neighbors (also big gardeners/fruit growers), have been almost afraid to hope that our very lovely and cool summer so far is predicting a real El Nino this winter. Looks like it may be shaping up to be just that. Do not stop sending up those prayers and well wishes for us out here in parched S. California!
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If that comes to pass in full magnitude, people in CA better buy flood insurance.
Or just live at elevation 