U.S. Water News Online
SACRAMENTO -- The capital region is on course for a record low rainfall in January, breaking a mark set more than 100 years ago.
Just .07 inches of rain has fallen so far this month. That's far short of the usual 4.18 inches. The current low record is 0.15 inches of moisture -- and that was in 1889.
Only a slight chance of rain is in the forecast for the rest of the month.
"Our record is in serious jeopardy," said Jim Mathews, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Sacramento office.
A high pressure ridge has been blocking storms from reaching Northern California. A storm over the Pacific could punch through this weekend, but it isn't likely to result in measurable precipitation.
The low snow has Sierra Nevada ski areas relying more on snowmaking and snow grooming to comb over existing natural and man-made snow on balding slopes.
California also relies on its Sierra snowpack for much of its summer water supply. Despite the scant moisture, water managers say reservoirs are full and the groundwater has been replenished by recent wet years.
State hydrologist Maurice Roos said the average reservoir storage on Dec. 31 was 119 percent of normal.
So far this winter, the jet stream that normally brings rain and snow to California is sending the moisture north and east. That has led to substantial rain and snow in Washington and Oregon, and repeated snowstorms in Colorado.
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