How much rain, snow has fallen in Sacramento, Northern California as storm hits region
UPDATE: Find the latest 72-hour rain and snow totals for Sacramento region here
The fierce winter storm bombarding Northern California is bringing more wind than rain so far.
The strongest storm of the season dumped 0.35 inches of rain on Sacramento Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said. But that’s far from a massive drenching; the record for the date was 1.35 inches in 1997, the year of the last major flood in greater Sacramento.
And it still left Sacramento with an extremely dry month as drought-like conditions persist; the region has received just 1.23 inches of rain in January, well short of the average of just under 4 inches. Still, Tuesday was the rainiest day of the season for Sacramento.
More wet weather is coming, however. A flash flood watch remained in effect Wednesday for much of the Sacramento area.
The weather service said “moderate to heavy rain” will hit the area at least through Saturday, with most parts of the Sacramento Valley getting another 1 to 2 inches of rain. Foothill communities will see more precipitation; Grass Valley for example, can expect up to 4 inches.
About 1 to 2 inches of additional rainfall was expected in the Sacramento-area from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday evening, said Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the weather service.
From Wednesday through Friday, the South Lake Tahoe should get a total of 2 to 3 inches of precipitation; 3 to 4 inches in Grass Valley; 1 to 2 inches in Stockton and Modesto; and 3 to 4 inches in Sonora, according to the weather service.
Here’s a roundup of 24-hour precipitation totals from the weather service as of 10:36 a.m. Wednesday:
| Reporting area | Elevation | Rain (inches) |
| Mt Shasta City | 3,590 | 1.49 |
| Red Bluff Airport | 349 | 1.32 |
| Redding Airport | 502 | 1.42 |
| Blue Canyon Airport | 5,280 | 2.02 |
| Vacaville Airport | 113 | 1.54 |
| Sacramento Int’l Airport | 25 | 1.29 |
| Sacramento (downtown) | 25 | 1 |
| Sacramento Exec. Airport | 21 | 0.86 |
| Modesto Airport | 97 | 0.90 |
| Stockton Airport | 27 | 0.44 |
| Marysville Airport | 62 | 0.39 |
| South Lake Tahoe Airport | 6,314 | 0.12 |
| Alturas | 4,400 | 0.07 |
| Oroville Airport | 192 | 0.05 |
| Paradise | 1,750 | 0.84 |
The weather service urged drivers to check road conditions if they absolutely through the mountains through Friday morning. Forecasters expected to see heavy mountain snowfall return Wednesday night, creating “another round of significant travel issues,” according to the weather service.
While rain was falling on the Valley floor, the Sierra Nevada was seeing major snowfalls: 9 inches at Sugar Bowl ski resort over the last 24 hours, a foot at Heavenly and 14 inches at Squaw Valley. Mammoth, in the central Sierra, got 2 feet of snow overnight.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 9:40 AM.