We're having weather

It's raining - for real. Not that misty stuff that's just a step above fog. Or the brief drizzle that lasts only a few minutes.

We're talking old-fashioned, day-long, Louisiana-style stuff. And I'm loving it.

I have the day off, and I can't wait to get outside.

The showers started early this morning, and it's looking as though they will continue through the end of the day. We're even under a flood watch.

The storm was triggered by a slow-moving low front that is sucking up moist ocean air from the south.

I think it's only the second significant rain event that we've had in San Diego since I moved here more than a year and a half ago, so I'm determined to make the most of it.
Nero, however, is having none of it. I tried to coax him out for a potty break and he froze after walking just a few feet out the front door. He wouldn't budge. I think all of the California sunshine has spoiled him.

Of course, the big downside to all of this is the traffic. People in these parts don't know how to drive in this weather - much like the problem Southerners have when it snows. And to make matters worse, all of the oil that accumulates on the roads during our lengthy dry spells turns the highways into auto slip-n-slides.

That's why accidents always spike when the weather gets stormy. The CHiP already is reporting more than 20 accidents in the area on its amazing traffic Web site.

Another problem is landslides, particularly in the areas that burned in October and have lost protective vegetation.

But that won't keep me from throwing on my rarely worn raincoat and heading out into the beautiful wetness.