Rain and snow return, but it won’t be enough to quench Northern California’s needs
More rain and snow area headed to Northern California on Tuesday, although the storm won’t be nearly enough to make up for what’s been a relatively dry January.
The National Weather Service said rain is expected to start falling at around 7 a.m. Tuesday, just in time for the morning commute. Light snow should hit the Sierra Nevada a couple of hours later, said NWS forecaster Craig Shoemaker.
“It’s a fairly weak storm,” Shoemaker said.
The forecast calls for about a quarter-inch of rain in the Sacramento Valley and three to five inches of snow, with the snow falling mainly at around the 5,000-foot elevation and above, he said.
“That could potentially cause some chain controls and traffic delays,” he said.
Although drought conditions are practically nonexistent, Northern California needs the precipitation. January, February and March are crucial months for rain and snow, enabling the region’s reservoirs to fill and make sure the state has adequate water for the summer and fall.
But so far the precipitation has been lacking. The Department of Water Resources’ precipitation index was at 63 percent of normal for the Valley and Sierra. The Sierra snowpack is 82 percent of normal.
The city of Sacramento has received just under an inch of rainfall in January, well below the 2.23 inches that’s typical for the first three weeks of the month, Shoemaker said.
“It’s been a fairly dry January,” Shoemaker said.
Latest doppler radar loop for Northern California
