Sacramento's October-November rain total tracks very close to 2022
Rain, rain, rain; when is it coming our way? So far, our water year has been below average, but that doesn't mean we'll have a dry December. Kathy Morrison
So far, our current water year – which runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2024 – has been feeling kind of dry. But don’t panic about lack of rainfall; we were at almost exactly the same spot last December – and we remember how that water year turned out.
For much of Sacramento (especially us folks south of the American River), our recent showers have been a drizzle at best. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento received only a trace of rain from the storm systems that passed through Northern California since Thanksgiving. A half inch or more had been predicted.
Sacramento’s November rain totaled only 0.36 inches – 1.3 inches below average. Of that total, most of it (0.21 inches) fell on one day (Nov. 18). That followed a below par October (0.6 inches).
Our 2023-24 water year, which started Oct. 1, hasn’t quite measured up to an inch – 0.96. That’s more than 1.5 inches below our 30-year average for those two months.
Here’s the surprise: The first two months of our 2022-23 water year totaled almost exactly the same – 0.95 inches. After a bone-dry October, all of that total fell in November. That may be why we remember last November as “wet.”
Or it could be because we had a very wet winter. Last December kicked off an unusually rainy season with 2.33 inches falling in the first five days. December 2022 ended with 7.79 inches – 4.36 inches above average.
That 2022-23 water year wound up as one of the wettest on record. Downtown Sacramento received 26.22 inches, more than 7 inches – 36.5% – above average.
As for this December, the weather service forecasts more possible showers coming soon – or not. “Chance rain showers” – 20 to 35% – is predicted for Saturday, Wednesday and Thursday. But those odds also mean chances are 65 to 80% we’ll stay dry.
Just keep your umbrella handy – and fingers crossed.
For more on Sacramento weather: https://www.weather.gov/sto/.
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Local News
Sites We Like
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.
Powered by California Local
