The raw data is in on the Bay Area's rainfall totals this week, and we now see that San Francisco got an unusually high share of the rain with this recent parade of atmospheric river storms.
As we settle in for a dry and chilly (at night) Christmas weekend, the rainfall numbers are in from this week's round of storms. The National Weather Service has published the raw accumulation numbers for the past few days of rain, and it shows that between Sunday morning and Tuesday morning, San Francisco had already received 1.8 inches of rain, and by Thursday morning the estimated total was 3.08 inches.
That's more total rainfall than parts of the East Bay, including Oakland Airport, which recorded 1.99 inches. Some higher totals came from the South Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains, and the North Bay. Mount Tamalpais saw 5.76 inches, while San Anselmo recorded 4.9 inches.
And parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains like Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, and Scott Creek saw upwards of six or seven inches.
Bay Area News Group has the chart breakdown of two-, three-, and four-day accumulation totals from Sunday to Thursday.
For some perspective, 3 inches of rain in San Francisco is nearly all of the rain the city received in the last "rain year" to this date, across almost six full months. From July 1 to December 20, 2022, the city received 4.5 inches of rain.
Of course, last winter, we were pummeled with atmospheric river events, one of the biggest of which occurred on New Year's Eve, December 31.
While this weekend may be dry, the National Weather Service says we should be bracing for more wet weather before the new year. Predictions about the amount of rainfall aren't yet available, but expect to see more rain next week, likely starting on Wednesday, December 27, and continuing on Friday, December 29.
Do you have holiday travel plans? Rain returns to the Bay Area after Christmas. Still plenty of details to resolve but keep up with the forecast as we head into next week. #cawx pic.twitter.com/MUtp6823WS
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) December 21, 2023