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The dead lawns and depleted reservoirs that marked California’s historic five-year drought seemed a long way off Friday, as a week of wet weather — with a bit more to come Saturday — pushed rainfall totals across Northern California above 100 percent of their historical averages for this date.
Through 4 p.m. Friday, total rainfall since Oct. 1 was at 112 percent of normal for San Jose; 111 percent for San Francisco; 113 percent for Sacramento; and 102 percent in Oakland. Further south, the numbers were even further off the charts, with Los Angeles at 171 percent of normal and San Diego at 163 percent.
“Just being above normal makes people feel there’s not a drought going on,” said Will Pi, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “Until this week we were below that. We’ve had a lot of rainy days this winter, but this was the first storm that really dumped a lot of rain.”
On Friday, the Bay Area cleaned up from the atmospheric river storm that brought a drenching 7 inches in 72 hours over the Santa Cruz Mountains, North Bay Hills and Big Sur area. The storm, the strongest of the year so far, also delivered 2 to 4 inches to most Bay Area cities, swelling creeks but stopping just in time to avoid flooding in most places other than in Guerneville, where the Russian River peaked at 4 feet above flood stage early Friday morning, causing some flooding in low-lying areas.
“Overall, it has been a great benefit,” said Pi. “Everything is green. No fire danger. And it washes the air pollution away.”
Saturday should see cooler temperatures, Pi said, with lows in the 40s in most Bay Area communities, highs in the 50s and scattered showers giving way to sunny weather Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. A high surf advisory is in place this weekend at the coast, where rip currents and waves up to 25 feet are expected.
A cold front from the north is forecast to take snow levels down to 3,000 feet on Saturday, which should bring snow to the higher Bay Area peaks, including Mount Hamilton and Mount Diablo. The snow level is expected to fall further to 1,500 feet by Sunday, which should bring snow to the Santa Cruz Mountains, East Bay Hills and Mount Tamalpais.
The extent of the deluge, and other storms in recent weeks, could be seen all across Northern California. Near Los Gatos, Lexington Reservoir filled to the top and began spilling down the spillway Friday morning for the first time in two years, since the big drought-busting winter of 2017.
“It started spilling around 9 a.m.,” said Colleen Valles, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. “It’s a modest amount. We aren’t expecting any impacts downstream.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly report issued by the federal government and the University of Nebraska, on Thursday reported that just 10 percent of California’s land area is in any kind of drought condition, even a modest one.
By comparison, just over six weeks ago, on Jan. 1, roughly 75 percent of the state was in some unusually dry pattern, leading to fears that the state might be heading back into another serious dry spell like the 2012-2016 drought, the worst since California became a state in 1850.
Those fears have been washed away, however, at least for now.
The Sierra Nevada snowpack — the source of nearly one-third of the state’s water supply, hit 141 percent of the historical average on Friday, up from just 69 percent on New Year’s Day.
A winter storm warning remains in effect through Saturday night, with avalanche warnings, chain controls on Interstate 80 and Highway 50, and another one to three feet of snow expected. Conditions were so bad that authorities were recommending that people not travel to the Sierra on Friday, the beginning of President’s Day Weekend, typically a big skiing period.
“If you must travel,” the National Weather Service said in an advisory, “prepare for long delays and carry an emergency kit with extra food, water and clothing.”
Meanwhile, across the Bay Area, reservoirs that had been perilously low during the drought filled to the top.
All seven of the reservoirs owned by the Marin Municipal Water District were spilling. Los Vaqueros, the massive man-made lake in Contra Costa County, was 92 percent full. Loch Lomond Reservoir near Ben Lomond, a key part of Santa Cruz’s water supply, was spilling. The seven reservoirs owned by the East Bay Municipal Utility District were 83 percent full. And four of the 10 reservoirs owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District — Lexington, Uvas, Chesbro and Almaden — were spilling.
Collectively, all 10 were 63 percent full, putting them at 113 percent of the historic average for this date. To reduce flood risk, the district last week began increased water releases from half of them, most notably Anderson, the largest, which was 41 percent full on Friday afternoon.
“Normally we like the rain to come in fits — a little bit at a time, and have things dry out, so we can get the rain without the threat of flooding,” said Valles. “Give us a break so we can get ready for more. That’s what we’ve been seeing over the past month.”
