Thanks to wet winter, Sacramento's annual rain total for 2023-24 almost average
It's fall, it's October, and trees are just starting to show their seasonal colors. It's also the start of a new Water Year. Kathy Morrison
It’s official; it’s hot. But it’s also been pretty dry.
Sacramento started a new “Water Year” Oct. 1 with a 100-degree-plus day – and another likely today (Wednesday). According to the National Weather Service, Tuesday’s 101 was the 46th triple-digit day in Sacramento since June 1.
This week’s high temperatures are running about 20 degrees above normal for early October. With temperatures up to 106 degrees, a heat advisory remains in effect in the Sacramento Valley through 11 p.m. Thursday.
This current hot spell also has been very dry, toasting vegetation and creating high fire danger.
In fact, Sacramento has seen precious little rain since May with only a trace in September. Average for those summer months usually isn’t much, but it’s something: 0.36 inches.
And that was just about the difference between a totally average Water Year and one slightly below that mark.
Used by climatologists to evaluate water resources, our Water Year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Average for downtown Sacramento: 18.14 inches.
Concluded on Monday, our 2023-24 Water Year totaled 17.6 inches. That sum was buoyed by a wet winter; big storms in December, January and February added up to 12.85 inches, more than 2 inches above normal for that period.
That wet winter brought a flurry of spring growth in wildlands. But our crispy summer – the hottest on record – parched that vegetation, increasing our fire danger.
Last fall, our Water Year got off to a slow start with only 0.96 inches total for October and November – 1.5 inches below average. But a very damp December (4.69 inches) made up for that deficit and kept us out of drought.
How will this Water Year shape up? Stay tuned; it’s too early to tell.
Meanwhile, keep some water handy and stay hydrated during this heat spell. (That goes for your garden, too.) A return to more normal fall temperatures is expected next week.
For more on Sacramento weather: https://www.weather.gov/sto/#
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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