Rain Forecast for Next Seven Days

Get your rain gear out — the National Weather Service is forecasting rain in the North Bay through Tuesday. Though Wednesday night only has a 20 percent chance of rain, meteorologists say it's a sure thing through the rest of this week.

Rains are supposed to be the heaviest this time of the year, but this season it has been delayed.

"January is typically the rainiest month," said Diana Henderson, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, based in Monterey. "It's very rare that we've seen very little rain."

Henderson said last month nearly topped the charts for driest months — at least since the 1950s.

The most recent driest month on record came in December of 1989, when zero rain fell. Last month, however, came in second. Scientists recorded .09 inches of rain in December 2011. The third driest month during the rainy season for this area was in December 1956, when meteorologists recorded .38 inches of rain.

So, what's normal? Henderson said the rainy season — which is recorded annually starting in June to the following July — at this time of year usually records between five and seven of inches.

In the North Bay, she said, "the average for year in December is about 5.5 inches, and January comes in a little wetter with 6.18."

Everyone is feeling the pinch, from agricultural workers in Southern California to almond growers in the Central Valley to local farms. Tara Smith, co-owner of , said the lack of rain over the past month means less fresh grass for cattle.

"We normally would be concerned about flooding right now," Smith said. "The frost melts in the morning as it gets warm and that helps a bit, but it won’t fill up the aquifers that in turn feed the springs and wells. For grass fed beef it is a problem."

At , workers pulled out the drip lines and sprinklers in December in anticipation of rain, only to put them back in January, which added nearly a week of work.

"Everything is growing slower, but as long as the rain comes eventually, we're not worried," said Misja Nuyttens, farm manager at Green String, located on Old Adobe Road.

"A cool late winter is part of nature's cycle," she said. "We’ve seen it before."

Karina Ioffee contributed reporting.