© Rich Pedroncelli / Associated PressVehicles drive through fog and light snow Oct. 17 on westbound Interstate 80 near Soda Springs.
California's northern Sierra Nevada mountain range, home to some of the state's largest reservoirs, had the wettest first two months of the water year since 1984, the
National Weather Service said Tuesday.
Between October and November, the eight measuring stations along the northern range received an average of 18 inches of precipitation, or about 200% above average for the first two months of the state's water year, said meteorologist Eric Kurth of the National Weather Service in Sacramento.That amount of snow and rain in two months has only been seen 11 times in the region since record keeping began, Kurth said, and nearly every time the northern Sierra Nevada ended the water year with above average rainfall.
"I wasn't expecting to see such a strong correlation. We are early, it's certainly not a guarantee," Kurth said. "But it's interesting how many times that early wet start has led to a wet ending."
The lone exception was 1984-85, which also happens to be the last time there was this much precipitation in the northern Sierra Nevada, Kurth said.
The heavy precipitation came mostly in October, when storms soaked Northern California. The Sierra Nevada's eight-station index recorded more than 12 inches of precipitation, or about four times the average for October, Kurth said.
While the milestone may be a good omen for the water year ahead, it's also highlighted more short-term, positive impacts on California.
