‘Onslaught’ of rain headed for Fresno, Valley. Will wet weather bust the drought?
After California experienced its driest three years on record — December rains could have a “major” impact on the central San Joaquin Valley’s drought.
“We’re finishing out 2022 with a bang,” Andy Bollenbacher, the lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Hanford, told The Bee on Wednesday morning. “We’re going to be likely seeing significant adjustments to the drought monitor.”
In December alone, Fresno has already received 3.79 inches of rain — over double the normal rate of 1.79 inches for a typical December.
And more is on the way.
According to the National Weather Service Hanford website, a “slew of systems” and an “onslaught of moisture” is headed for the Western region starting Thursday and into New Year’s weekend, bringing “possible excessive rain, heavy mountain snow and high winds.”
December 2021 also saw above-average rainfalls, at 3.64 total inches of rain. Last December, California saw so much rain that much of the state, including parts of the central San Joaquin Valley, saw a change from category D4 “Exceptional Drought,” to category D3, “Extreme Drought.”
Between December 2021 to December 2022, however, the region’s drought intensified and crept back up to the “Exceptional Drought” category in parts of the Central Valley including: Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and Kern Counties, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
But meteorologists and forecasters from National Weather Service Hanford office told The Bee they are confident the region’s above-average rainfall in December would reduce the drought’s severity in much of the Central Valley.
Much of the central San Joaquin Valley currently experiences the highest intensity drought category, D4 “Exceptional Drought.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if some areas get double upgraded,” Bollenbacher said, from category D4 to D2 “Severe Drought.”
While Bollenbacher said the “excessive” rains will make a “major dent” in the drought situation, most recent forecasts from the U.S. Drought Monitor predict the drought will persist into March 2023.
Will December rains break Fresno record?
December is on track to become one of the top ten wettest months on record.
So far, Fresno has already received 3.79 inches of rain — just one-fifth of an inch less than the 10th wettest month on record, when Fresno saw 3.98” of rain in 1884.
The ninth wettest month on record was in 1891, when Fresno received 3.99 inches of rain.
And more wet days are on the horizon as the year comes to a close. A minor storm is passing through on Thursday, followed by a larger storm on Saturday.
Bollenbacher, of the NWS Hanford, said 2022 would likely end as a wetter year compared to 2021.
This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 10:58 AM.
