The crippling multi-year drought in California and other parts of the West is drying up wells, parching fields, and even allowing mountains to rise like an uncoiled spring.
(MORE: California Wells Running Dry | Before/After Lake Photos)
Almost 60 percent of California was categorized in exceptional drought as of Sept. 23, the worst category of drought in the weekly drought monitor analysis (see map below). Reservoir levels in the Golden State were well below average levels for late September.
However, an impressive Pacific storm by late September standards wrung out significant rainfall in parts of the thirsty West.
Real Rain, At Last!
A sharp dip in the jet stream lumbered slowly into the West from Sept. 23-25, 2014.
Ahead of the attendant cold front, an atmospheric river, a long, narrow plume of deep moisture from the tropics, pulled into parts of the West.
Moisture in the atmosphere associated with this storm, known as precipitable water to meteorologists, was well above late September averages. In English, that means this was a highly-unusually moist storm for late September.
Heavier rain began to surge into western Washington, western Oregon and northwest California late Tuesday night, and persisted on Wednesday and Thursday.
How much rain fell?
General 1-3 inch rainfall totals were common from western Washington into western Oregon and far northwest California through early Thursday morning.
Rainfall rates of 1-2 inches in three hours prompted a flood advisory early Thursday for the northern Sacramento Valley, including Redding and Red Bluff, California. Roadway flooding was reported by the California Highway Patrol in Cottonwood, California.
Parts of Shasta County, California picked up over 2 inches of rain, including Shasta Dam (2.76 inches). Lake Shasta had dropped to only 26 percent capacity, as of Sept. 24.
Over 5 inches of rain had fallen near Port Orford, near the southern Oregon coast. Several other 3-5 inch rain totals came in from Curry County, in southwest Oregon.
Wednesday was the wettest September day on record in Eureka, California (2.59 inches), topping a record which had stood since Sept. 11, 1895.
Medford, Oregon (2.02 inches) chalked up its second wettest September day on record, topped only by Sept. 28, 1977 (2.80 inches). Records in Medford date to 1911.
This rain was good news for existing large fires in far northwest California and western Oregon. From 0.5 to 1 inch of rain fell in the Sierra near the King Fire near Lake Tahoe.
Finally, here was a hopeful sign for the season ahead, a fresh dusting of snow atop Lassen Peak, California. Speaking of snow, let's explain the factor that would truly bring significant drought relief ahead.
Drought Denter?
Yes, runoff triggered by soaking rain from this September storm in far northwest California raised reservoir levels a tad.
However, the key to drought relief in California is not rain, but snow.
Critical to water supply in this part of the country is the buildup of winter snowpack in the mountains, whose meltwater in the spring replenishes reservoirs.
Snowmelt provides up to 75 percent of the West's freshwater supply. The Sierra and, to a lesser degree, Colorado River snowmelt, is crucial for California.
In short, California and the West needs a persistently wet winter, with a combination of significant rain and mountain snow to replenish groundwater and reservoir levels.
Instead of last winter's dominant high pressure ridge blocking storms from sweeping in from the Pacific Ocean, water resource managers are hoping for a parade of Pacific storms guided by a more frequent west-to-east flow from the Pacific Ocean.
(INFOGRAPHIC: The Drought In Numbers)
The heart of California's wet season runs from November through March. In that five-month period, Tahoe City, California, picks up 97 percent of its average seasonal snow and San Francisco measures 85 percent of its average annual rain.
Defined by sunshine, suffering an historic drought, Californians will be rooting hard for rain and snow this winter.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Before/After Photos: California's Multi-Year Drought
