In Midst of California’s Drought, a Rainy Day Is a Welcome Sight

LOS ANGELES — This might be the only state in the nation where a rainy day — complete with blinding sheets of water, shoe-sopping flooded intersections and chalk gray skies — puts people in a good mood.

And with good reason. The drenching rainstorm that settled here on Tuesday came as California wheezed its way into the fourth year of the worst drought in centuries. No matter that the storm was supposed to last only one day: The simple, if unfamiliar, act of grasping for umbrellas, turning on windshield wipers and jumping over puddles set off a combination of celebration and chaos.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/us/in-midst-of-californias-drought-a-rainy-day-is-a-welcome-sight.html?_r=0