How do latest Sacramento storms compare to New Year downpour? Here’s the breakdown
“Atmospheric river storm” is becoming part of Californians’ everyday vocabulary in 2023.
Kicking off the year, these systems have been unrelenting. Floods, broken levees and record rain have berated communities across the state.
There have been not one, two or five of these storms this year — but at least 10, the National Weather Service told The Bee. A silver lining: Drought conditions have improved dramatically.
In Sacramento, the most notorious of these storms hit in early January, with the latest round the first two weeks of March.
How does the current system compare to the New Year storms that ravaged the capital city? Here’s the breakdown:
How many days did it rain?
January storm
During the New Year atmospheric river storms, Sacramento endured a stormy 14-day streak, beginning in late December.
Downtown Sacramento recorded rain 16 days total in January.
March storm
So far, it has rained all but three days in March. While the end of February saw a six-day streak, this month started off dry. Rain picked back up on March 4 and has been consistent.
As of Tuesday, Sacramento is in the midst of a 11-day streak.
Storm damage in Sacramento region
January
“January was much more impactful, at least for our area than March storms have been,” said Chelsea Peters, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Early January wind gusts of up to 50 to 60 mph knocked down more than 1,000 trees in the city and roughly 300,000 SMUD customers were left without power as a result of the storm. Two people died.
A levee breached in the Wilton area in south Sacramento County. Three people died as a result of flash flooding in the area.
“The January systems were generally brought closer together and were wetter and warmer overall than these March storms have been,” Peters said.
March
Though the rain and wind for the March storms hasn’t been as turbulent, it has resulted in localized flooding in parts of Northern California. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the Sacramento area as the atmospheric storms moved into the region and snow melted in the foothills.
“The first week of March the storms that we saw were much colder, these last couple of AR’s that we’ve seen over the five days have had fluctuating storm levels,” Peters said.
Due to the cooler nature of the March storms, snow levels have also been astounding.
Across California, 21 counties went under a state of emergency as of March 9. Snowpack levels were so high in the Sierra Neveda that some mountain residents were snowed in. This left 2,000 resident in Nevada County with no power, due to blizzard conditions.
More than 3,000 SMUD customers in Sacramento County lost power Tuesday morning, according to the utility’s online outage map.
High winds, rain and possible thunder are expected into Wednesday.
As Northern California gears up for another round of storms, snowpack levels are also expected to increase through at least Wednesday.
How much rain fell during each streak?
Downtown Sacramento has recorded 23.9 inches for this water year, which starts in October and lasts through September. The normal is 19.2 inches.
January
January had a total of 7.54 inches in 16 days. The last half of the month was dry.
Here’s a look at how much rain was recorded at the Sacramento rain meter, near Sacramento State, during the 14-day rain streak that started in late December:
Dec. 29: 0.62 inches of rain.
Dec. 30: 0.58 inches of rain.
Dec. 31: 2.37 inches of rain.
Jan. 1: 0.01 inches of rain.
Jan. 2: 0.84 inches of rain.
Jan. 3: 0.01 inches of rain.
Jan. 4: 0.37 inches of rain.
Jan. 5: 1.07 inches of rain.
Jan. 6: 0.01 inches of rain.
Jan. 7: 0.16 inches of rain.
Jan. 8: 0.68 inches of rain.
Jan. 9: 1.32 inches of rain.
Jan. 10: 0.27 inches of rain.
Jan. 11: 0.09 inches of rain.
March
In March is has rained consecutively for 11 days straight, from March 4 to March 14. This has totaled 2.43 inches of rain and counting.
Not even half way through the month yet, and Sacramento is close to meeting its 2.82 inches of normal rainfall.
Here’s a look at how much rain has been recorded at the Sacramento rain meter, near Sacramento State, in our nine day, and counting rain streak:
March 4: 0.15 inches of rain.
March 5: 0.30 inches of rain.
March 6: 0.03 inches of rain.
March 7: 0.01 inches of rain.
March 8: 0.13 inches of rain.
March 9: 0.68 inches of rain.
March 10: 0.41 inches of rain.
March 11: 0.15 inches of rain.
March 12: 0.49 inches of rain.
March 13: 0.08 inches of rain.
March 14: TBD
How common are atmospheric river storms in California?
The American Meteorologist Society defines an atmospheric river as a “long, narrow, and transient corridor of strong horizontal water vapor transports that is typically associated with a low-level jet stream ahead of the cold front of an extra-tropical cyclone.”
On average California can experience five to six atmospheric rivers a year, according to the California Department of Water Resources. There are also years where the state will only see one to two.
It’s important to note that each atmospheric river is different in the way it behaves and how it impacts the state, Peters said.
It’s fair to say California is above normal for the year, Peters said.
Snowpack comparison
April 1 is considered peak snow season, but this year snowpack totals have remained above average all year.
January
On Jan. 13 snowpack levels in the Central Sierra were at 229% of the normal, according to 51 stations from the California Department of Water and Resources.
March
As of March 13, a total of 47 stations were reporting 223% of the normal, according to the California Department of Water and Resources.
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