hi yam,
yes, i know quite well the 'poring' rains of S.Fco;
i lived in Escondido Village/Stanford for some years, and i think SFco, Palo Alto , nearly the whole CA doesn't know what a real storm is...at least, when we were there, i've heard about "there comes a storm" but it was a nice shower , sometimes for a whole week;
and it is like that all over the world, heavy storms are not usual, unless you are in a tropical country, where the real rain storms are very usual, and there are no words to describe,
i can just say it is magnificent, scary, hypnotizing, and makes one feel so small !!
if you come here one day, let me know
hug
joanna
in time : i LOVE Palo Alto, SFco area