December began in wintery fashion across the Bay Area and Northern California on Thursday, as a storm from the Pacific Northwest brought the first steady rain in three weeks, and heavy snow covering the Sierra Nevada.
Forecasters said after a brief interlude Friday, another slightly smaller rain system is expected on Saturday and Sunday.
For parched California, now entering the fourth year of drought, the soggy day was a hopeful sign. But it brought with it the usual headaches.
From midnight through mid-afternoon, the California Highway Patrol had 1,300 calls in the Bay Area — 30% more than the same time the day before, when it was sunny and dry. Water pooling on roadways, along with cars tailgating and hydroplaning, all kept police busy.
“There have been wet roadways and debris being washed down hillsides. Our biggest problem, as it always is during these storms, is people not adjusting their speed on the slicker roadways, which has led to more crashes,” said CHP Officer Andrew Barclay.
In the Sierra, forecasters expected 1 to 3 feet of new snow by Friday morning.
Interstate 80 was shut down temporarily between Donner Summit and the Nevada state line Thursday afternoon after multiple cars spun out and a big rig truck jackknifed. Schools were closed from South Lake Tahoe to Incline Village in the Lake Tahoe Area.
Current conditions on I-80 over Donner Summit. Winds are kicking up and visibility is reducing so slow down and increase your following distance!
• I-80 is R2 in both directions from Alta to the Nevada State line.
• Big rigs are still being turned around.— CHP Truckee (@CHP_Truckee) December 1, 2022
Around the Bay Area, the storm marked the first significant rain since Nov. 8. By mid-afternoon after most of the storm had moved through, San Francisco received .84 inches of rain; while downtown Oakland had 1.15, Richmond 1.08 and Concord .53. Across the bay, Redwood City received .74 inches, and Mineta San Jose International Airport had .59.
Precipitation totals were higher closer to the coast. Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains was drenched with 2.32 inches, Woodacre in Marin County saw 1.71 inches, Los Gatos 1.19 and Mining Ridge in Big Sur 2.36.
“It’s definitely providing some short-term relief,” said Jeff Lorber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service regional office in Monterey. “We had a three-week period with no rain. This should help allay any fire concerns over the next few weeks or so. It’s not drought-busting rainfall but it is beneficial. We are hopeful we’ll get more this month.”
After a dry day Friday, forecasters say this weekend will bring another storm system late Saturday into Sunday, with similar, if slightly smaller Bay Area rain totals, and another 1 to 3 feet of snow in the Sierra.
By Monday, much of Northern California should be close to or above historical rainfall averages for early December. But dry weather is forecast next week. To break the state’s drought, many more storms will be needed, experts said.
“We’ve been in this for three years now. We’ve dug ourselves a deep hole,” said Dan McEvoy, a research at the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno. “So it is going to take well-above average rain and snow — not just a ho-hum normal year — or multiple wet years in a row, to really get out of this drought, in terms of a water supply perspective.”
McEvoy, who spoke Monday at a drought webinar sponsored by NOAA and other agencies, noted that typically, the most snow and rain in Northern California falls in December, January and February.
“We have a long way to go,” he said. “We really need those core months — December through February — to deliver storms, to have a shot at recovering from this drought.”
Be careful while driving in the rain. If you see trees down that are NOT a threat to life or property, call 311 @SF311 – If it’s an emergency, call 911 Photo credit @KPIXDesk pic.twitter.com/68SODe78Zs
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) December 1, 2022
On Thursday, 85% of California was in a severe drought, with 41% in extreme drought, and 13% — mostly the San Joaquin Valley — in an exceptional drought, the worst of five categories, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly federal report.
The past three years have been the driest three-year period statewide since records began in the 1800s. Without big wet winter storms to fill them, the state’s major reservoirs have fallen steadily.
California’s largest reservoir, Shasta Lake, near Redding, was 31% full on Thursday. The second largest, Oroville, in Butte County, was 27% full. Similarly, Folsom Reservoir, east of Sacramento, and San Luis Reservoir, east of Gilroy, were both 25% full.
More storms will be needed to saturate the ground so water can run off and begin refilling them.
But if storms are too heavy too fast, they can bring a downside: Flooding, mudslides, downed trees and power outages. Very little of that winter mayhem happened Thursday.
PG&E reported late Thursday afternoon that it had about 1,700 power outages related to the storm in all Bay Area counties, a small number given the area has 7 million residents.
“This was the perfect storm,” said PG&E spokeswoman Mayra Tostado. “It brought much-needed rain to a drought-stricken area that has had high fire risk. We were able to keep the lights on for most of our customers and when there were outages, we were able to restore them quickly.”
In the coastal mountains, where it rained the most, there were some accidents, but no major problems, like mudslides on areas burned in recent wildfires, or trees falling into homes.
“The ground isn’t saturated with water yet, so it soaks up the moisture,” said Capt. Chip Pickard, with Cal Fire’s San Mateo – Santa Cruz Unit. “It’s a good start to our winter season.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com