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During a normal year, 30% of the state's water supply comes from groundwater (underground water). In times of intense drought, groundwater consumption can rise to 60% or more. [5] Over 850,000,000 acre-feet (1,050 km 3) of water is stored in California's 450 known groundwater reservoirs. [5]
Average annual precipitation Percent Area in U.S. Drought Monitor Categories. The prevailing westerly winds from the oceans also bring moisture, and the northern parts of the state generally receive higher annual rainfall amounts than the south. California's mountain ranges influence the climate as well: moisture-laden air from the west cools ...
Napa, north of San Francisco, recorded its worst flood to this time [29] while nearby Calistoga recorded 29 inches (740 mm) of rain in 10 days, creating a once-in-a-thousand-year rainfall event. [27] Records for 24-hour rain events were reported in the Central Valley and in the Sierra. Thousand-year rainfalls were recorded in the Sierras. [1]
Property damage. $4.6 billion (2023 USD) [2] Periods of heavy rainfall caused by multiple atmospheric rivers in California between December 31, 2022, and March 25, 2023, resulted in floods that affected parts of Southern California, the California Central Coast, Northern California and Nevada. [3][4] The flooding resulted in property damage [5 ...
In the coastal and southern parts of the state, and much of the Sacramento River system, the primary threat is rain floods in the November–April wet season. Oceanic "atmospheric river" or Pineapple Express storms can generate massive precipitation in a short period (often up to 50 percent of the total annual rainfall in just a few storms). [45]
Rainfall totals in Northern California from Monday, March 27, 2023, to Wednesday, March 29, 2023. In addition to the rain, hail pounded San Francisco and surrounding neighborhoods.
The deserts in California receive between 2 and 10 inches (51 and 254 mm) of rain per year. [6] Plants in these deserts are brush and scrub, adapted to the low rainfall. Common plant species include creosote bush , blackbrush , greasewood , saltbush , big sagebrush , low sagebrush , and shadscale . [ 6 ]
Over the contiguous United States, total annual precipitation increased at an average rate of 6.1 percent per century since 1900, with the greatest increases within the East North Central climate region (11.6 percent per century) and the South (11.1 percent). Hawaii was the only region to show a decrease (−9.25 percent). [89]