FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITIONS:
Leonard Frankford writes from Pikesville: “With all the recent rain in southern California, I was wondering if any of it has reached Death Valley, which is normally so dry. If so, how much rain did it get?” Precious little. The total for December at Death Valley was 0.86 inch. Most of that (0.72 inch) fell in a four-day stretch from Dec. 20-23. On the other hand, their average December rainfall is only 0.19 inch. So, at four times the norm, it really was a soaking.
(GETTY IMAGES: David McNew, 2005)