Spring storm rolls through Bay Area; residents hope rain will fill reservoirs

LOS GATOS, Calif. - At the Lexington Reservoir in Los Gatos, gusty winds whipped through trees as a spring storm closed in on Sunday afternoon.

Many people said they welcomed the change in weather. 

Krishnan Srinivasan from Palo Alto said, "We just came here to check out the local reservoir and it definitely looks a little low so it’s exciting we’re going to get some rain and hopefully refill some of our local aquifers."

Bridget Brown from San Jose added, "I think it’s much needed so it’s exciting. Especially in the springtime when we get rain we get pretty wildflowers and everything’s green."

Meteorologist Brooke Bingaman with the National Weather Service said the additional moisture will be beneficial after a dry January and February but it won’t pull California out of the drought.

"Unfortunately this storm isn’t miraculously going to get us out of the drought," said Bingaman. "For instance, in Downtown San Francisco their average rain for the month of March should be around 3 inches. So far, we have only gotten three-tenths of an inch."

Bingaman said there’s concern in some of the burn scar areas, especially the area of Big Sur where the Colorado Fire scorched nearly 700 acres in January. That area is expected to get some of the heaviest rain. There’s a risk of debris flow.

Bingaman said, "Because the Colorado Fire is still fairly new and it burned really hot we’re not exactly sure how these soils are going to react to this much rain. And so because of that, we have issued a flash flood watch."

The flash flood watch on the Big Sur coastline is in effect through Monday morning.