Bay Area Rainfall Totals: How Much Has Fallen Since Christmas?

BAY AREA — On the first non-rainy day in what feels like an eternity, it’s time to take a step back and see just how much rain has fallen since the constant barrage of storms started.

In one of the wettest winters on record, California averaged 8.61 inches of precipitation from Dec. 26 to Jan. 11, according to the National Weather Service. Up north, the totals were even higher. Downtown San Francisco saw a total of 13.59 inches over the 16 days, while the San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan statistical area averaged 13.34 inches.

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In a state that’s usually hurting for water, these 16-day totals were often more than half of the total annual precipitation totals. Downtown San Francisco absorbed 59% of its annual normal precipitation (based on NWS data from 1991 to 2020) from Dec. 26 to Jan. 10. Across the bay, Oakland weathered 69 percent. Santa Barbara, near the site of many evacuations this week, saw 64 percent.

The rains have brought the California snowpack to the largest it’s been at this time of year in over two decades, and Wednesday’s snow reached 226 percent of average for this time of year, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Still, climatologists remain uncertain that this deluge will get the state out of its years-long drought. The state’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville, were still only at 42 and 47 percent of capacity, respectively, on Wednesday, according to CDWR. Many other reservoirs are only about half-full. What’s more, scientists predict drier conditions will settle in after January 20. Still, there is reason to be hopeful, especially after the snowpack measured 102 percent of its April 1 average.

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“102% of average with another week of stormy weather coming up is absolutely fantastic,” UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory lead scientist Andrew Schwartz told The Los Angeles Times. “And assuming we don’t see complete and absolute dryness like we did last year, it’s shaping up to be a winter that, at the very least, will prevent us from going into further drought, if not help pull us out of the drought.”

Below are some of the 16-day rainfall totals in inches across Northern California. Asterisks indicate a 16-day record. Some totals are based on raw NWS data and have not been checked for quality control.

• Downtown San Francisco: 13.59
• Oakland: 12.90*
• San Rafael: 12.15
• SFO Airport: 11.59*
• Napa: 11.21
• Concord: 10.82
• Gilroy: 9.92
• Downtown Sacramento: 9.58*
• Fremont: 9.43
• Livermore: 8.39