Umbrella sales up as rain returns to the South Bay
BOULDER CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- The staff at Boulder Creek Drug Store put bright colored umbrellas in the front window three weeks ago. However, they didn't sell a single one during December due to the lack of rain. Today, with rain returning, they told ABC7 News that they have sold two. Finally.
Rain doesn't seem to bother Boulder Creek residents. This is one of the rainiest areas in the Santa Cruz mountains. Flooding and mudslides and road closures come with living here. So they're smiling as they dash through the raindrops, running errands along the town's main street.
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A few miles away in Scotts Valley, people were talking about the scent the rain brings to the air. Some describe it as "freshness." Researchers decades ago gave it an official name: Petrichol. It's the odor given off as rain hits dry soil.
So far, the rain has been light on this Wednesday. The Boulder Creek is tame; its level posing no threat to spilling beyond its banks. There have been no fender benders caused by vehicles skidding on wet pavement on Highway 9. The only casualties so far are the empty wooden chairs sitting outside the barber shop in Boulder Creek. No one wants to sit out in the rain.
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Lexington Reservoir and others operated by the Valley Water Distict are at low levels, ready to hold runoff from this and future rain storms.
A woman leaving the local Safeway store said she has been praying for rain. It has arrived.
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