SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A powerful Atmospheric River delivered a big boost to December's rain totals for Northern California, exactly what the state needs during the wet winter months. Nearly 50% of the state's precipitation falls in December, January and February.
December got off to a slow start with dry weather through the first ten days. A series of Atmospheric Rivers opened the storm door and delivered a good boost to the precipitation numbers. The largest Atmospheric River hit Saturday, Dec. 14 with powerful winds and even a tornado in Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz. This storm was followed by a weaker weather system that brought lighter rain totals.
Below is a calendar of precipitation for Downtown Sacramento.
Tracking the averages versus actual for December plus the season, it's clear to see the region is off to a great start for the 2024-25 water year. December is slightly above average for total precipitation but over 1.50" above average for the water year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2024 through Sept, 30, 2025. This is largely due to a large Atmospheric River that hit in November driving totals well above average for the month.
Most of the storms have been favoring Northern California at this point. Eureka and Redding are over five inches ahead of average. Sacramento and San Francisco are nearly two inches ahead of average. This bodes well for water storage since the large reservoirs in California are in the northern part of the state.
The Climate Prediction Center's 8-14 range forecast is also favoring an above average outlook for precipitation. This would last through the beginning of 2025. The outlook for temperatures in the same time frame are looking to be above average. This could be problematic for snowpack if the storms come in too warm. Certainly something to watch as we ring in the New Year.
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