Raincoats, rain boots and umbrellas stored in closets finally saw the light of day.

Today’s rain added to the rainy season kickoff that began in the Bay Area last Monday. Students wore raincoats and carried colorful umbrellas to protect themselves from the cold downpour. Compared to the relatively warm weather San Jose recently experienced, the rain was a change and caused varied reactions among students. Students will see rain again today as they commute to school.

On April 1, Governor Jerry Brown put in place a water restriction, requiring California cities to reduce their water usage by 25 percent and fining households that did not restrict their water use. To fix the drought, California needs about 11 trillion gallons of water.

“[Because of the water restriction], I’m no longer to take extremely long showers, and my grass is turning brown, which my dog absolutely hates,” Sameep Mangat (10) said. “I know that California is in a serious drought, though, so we need to cut back on water until rain comes.”

This fall marks the fourth year of California’s drought. Students recognized the necessity of rain, while still noting its disadvantages.

“We are in a pretty serious drought, so you have to think for the greater good,” Doreene Kang (12) said. “Since people aren’t that used to it in California, they feel bothered by it.”

Although the rain signified a small step towards fixing our drought, it also had negative consequences for the commute to school. Certain students came late to school because of the rain.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the first rain after period of dry weather makes the roads most slippery, leading to accidents. Akshaya Vemuri (10) arrived late to school because of the traffic.

“There’s usually a ton of traffic already on the highway since I take 101 and 280, so if I start at seven, depending on the traffic it usually ranges from 7:40 [a.m.] to sometimes 8 [a.m.],” Akshaya said. “With the rain we decided to take a different route but every single possible road to get to school was full of traffic, so it took me an hour and a half.”

Although California obviously needs rain, the effects of one day of rain hardly make a dent in California’s required amount of water. The few hours of rain marked a small step, nonetheless, towards rectifying the drought, despite the longer commute it caused.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Ashley Jiang

The usually dry ground forms puddles from the rain. Last Monday was the first day it rained during the school year.