Sacramento’s first real storm of the 2024-2025 water year fell on Friday evening, bringing rain across the region and snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
According to the National Weather Service, downtown Sacramento saw 0.35 inches of rain Friday at the start of November, following 0.17 inches a day earlier on Halloween. The two days marked the first significant rainfall totals for the city since early May.
Elk Grove saw 0.33 inches on Friday, while Davis had just 0.08 inches. The rain fell across Roseville – one weather service monitoring site collected 0.12 inches, but a Roseville fire station received half an inch.
“It’s the first notable weather system of the water year, providing a lot of beneficial rain for the (Sacramento) Valley,” said weather service meteorologist Dakari Anderson. The water year in California starts on October 1.
While most Lake Tahoe ski resorts reported no snowfall, Anderson said many aren’t experiencing it this early in the season. Boreal was an exception, reporting 4 inches as of Saturday morning.
Caltrans’ Kingvale Maintenance Station (about 6,000 feet above sea level) saw 6.5 inches of snow, while the agency reported 2 inches at Castle Peak (7,000 feet). Lower Lassen Peak (7,000 feet) reached 15.4 inches, Anderson said.
According to the latest weather forecast, the rain was likely the last in Sacramento in at least a week. Daily temperatures are expected to peak around 70 degrees and drop into the 40s overnight through next Friday, although wind gusts around 30 MPH are possible next Sunday and Monday.
Sunday also marks the end of daylight saving time, meaning it will get darker and cooler earlier in the evening.
It may be too early for holiday music, but the rain has arrived just in time for the Coastal Range and Northern Sacramento Valley. Expect showers to continue to fill the Valley through this evening before easing off tomorrow morning. #Cawx pic.twitter.com/E4ZvOtnm3W
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) November 1, 2024
