Atmospheric river storm sweeps Sacramento area. How much rain have we gotten so far?
The National Weather Service placed much of Sacramento under a flood watch an atmospheric river-fueled rain storm continued to pour rain in the region.
The Sacramento area could see periods of moderate and heavy rain into Tuesday evening, weather service meteorologist Scott Rowe said.
The weather service forecast an additional 2 to 3 inches of rain in the Valley and 3 to 7 inches of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada through early Wednesday.
According to Rowe, snow levels on Tuesday were expected to be at elevations between 6,000 and 6,500 feet.
They could fall as low as 4,000 feet overnight as cold air moves into the mountains, the meteorologist said.
How much rain and snow has fallen so far, and where? Here’s what you need to know:
How much rain has fallen in Sacramento?
The Sacramento area received more than an inch of rain between Saturday morning and Tuesday morning, Rowe said.
Here are the 72-hour rainfall totals as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
- Downtown Sacramento: 1.3 inches of rain
- Sacramento International Airport: 1.07 inches
- Carmichael: 1.93 inches
- Roseville: 1.7 inches
- Folsom Lake: 1.02 inches
- Auburn: 3.22 inches
- El Dorado Hills: 2.39 inches
- Elk Grove: 1.18 inches
How much snow did Sierra Nevada get?
According to the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab, 16.3 inches of snow fell at an elevation of 6,900 feet at Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada between Sunday and Tuesday morning.
Rowe said the summit of Sugar Bowl, at 8,300 feet, received a foot of snow between Monday and Tuesday.
The Palisades summit, which has an elevation of 9,000 feet, received 6 inches of snow overnight, he said.
Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort reported receiving 2 inches of snow overnight, and Kirkwood ski resort said it got just 1 inch of fresh snow between Sunday and Tuesday.
Could the Sacramento River flood?
In a Tuesday briefly, the California Nevada River Forecast Center said it expects “additional rises” to rivers in Northern California as high water continues to flow.
According to Rowe, the Sacramento River had not overflowed into the Yolo Bypass through Tuesday morning.
The river forecast center expects the river to reach a critical water level at the Fremont Weir forecast point by 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The Consumnes River had also not reached high water levels by Tuesday, but the river forecast center predicts it will briefly rise into the action and monitor zone on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
What’s in the forecast for Sacramento area?
Sacramento could continue to see rain periodically through Friday, according to the weather service’s latest seven-day forecast, while the mountains have chances of snow through Saturday.
On Tuesday, Sacramento was expected to receive a quarter- to half-inch of rain with gusty winds up to 45 mph.
The capital city was expected to see a high temperature of 56 degrees and an overnight low temperature of 35 degrees.
On Tuesday night, the Sacramento area could see another quarter- to half-inch of rain.
Wednesday is forecast to be dry all day, with a high around 55 and low around 37.
The rain is expected to return Thursday after 4 a.m., with a 90% chance of rain throughout the day and overnight. The high will be 48 and the low will be around 40.
There is a 50% chance of rain on Friday before 10 a.m, the weather service said, with a high around 54 and low near 34.
Skies are expected to clear heading into the weekend.
What will the weather be like in Tahoe?
According to the weather service, South Lake Tahoe could get between a quarter and a half of an inch of precipitation Tuesday at elevations of 7,600 feet.
Wednesday has slight chances of snow until 7 a.m. and after 10 a.m., with less than an inch of snow set to fall overnight.
Thursday could bring 6 to 12 inches of snow to the Tahoe area over a 24-hour period.
Friday is forecast to have 1 to 3 inches of snow during the day and a small chance of snow overnight.
There’s a slight chance of snow before 10 a.m. Saturday, with the rest of the weekend forecast to remain dry.
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 12:25 PM.
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