Rain breaks 200-plus day dry spell for Oakland, San Jose, Mountain View

OAKLAND, Calif. - The rain sprinkling over the Bay Area ends a long stretch of dry weather, bringing relief to firefighters battling wildfires in Butte County and a sigh of relief for residents tired of the smoky air choking the skies.

The last time it rained at least .10 inch in the region was on Oct. 3, 48 days ago. But that precipitation really only hit Napa and Santa Rosa in the North Bay, according to KTVU meteorologist Steve Paulson.

But the last time it rained that much in the rest of the Bay Area was much longer than that.

Many worry the Bay Area rain will be toxic. It will not, scientists say

Data from the National Weather Service shows that Oakland hasn’t seen .10 of an inch of rain for 223 days, and San Jose and Mountain View haven’t had rain for 218 days.

As for when  the rain will hit hardest on Wednesday? Paulson said it’s impossible to guess the exact time, but speculated it would hit “late morning