When we talk about normals and rainfall here is what we mean. Over a span of 30 years we calclulate the average amount of rain for a month. Then we divide by the number of days in that month. The resulting figure is what is considered normal for a daily amount of precipiation. For November that turns out to be a tenth (0.10) of an inch per day.

Of course we aren't living in Seattle so we don't get rain nearly every day. That means we have to get more substantial rain but less frequently. So was today's nice soaking rain a big help?. Not really. Many spots had about 2/10ths of an inch. In other words, we would need a rain like this every other day just to keep the same in relation to where we are in terms of the current drought; and since we are almost 11 inches below normal for the year, this rain certainly didn't hurt, but it also didn't do much at all to help.