Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
How Much Rain Fell in Fresno, Other Valley Cities?
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 3 years ago on
October 26, 2021

Share

The highly anticipated rainstorm set the daily record for Oct. 25 in Fresno as .86 inches fell, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford.

That beat the previous record set in 1927 by more than a half-inch.

Monday’s storm brought Fresno’s October total to 1.27 inches, which is more than three times the historic normal for the month. You might remember that Fresno received .40 of an inch on Friday, Oct. 8.

The “bomb cyclone” storm didn’t hammer the central and northern San Joaquin Valley nearly as hard as it did Northern California. But Merced received 1.57 inches, leading the way among Valley cities. Hanford got exactly 1 inch, Bakersfield .91, and Madera .51.

Today’s NWS forecast calls for sunny skies, with a high near 64, and northwest winds 5 to 10 mph in Fresno.

Storm Moves Into Southern California

The weather system weakened as it moved south but still dropped enough rain Monday evening to cause mudslides that closed roads in the San Bernardino Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. In Southern California, 1.1 inches fell in Beverly Hills.

By early today, light rain and snow were still falling in northern parts of California and the lone remaining flood warning was in Sonoma County north of San Francisco, where stream levels fell slowly.

A wind surfer surfs in the rain in Long Beach, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. (Brittany Murray/The Orange County Register via AP)

Northeast of San Francisco, 5.44 inches fell on downtown Sacramento on Monday, shattering the one-day record for rainfall that had stood since 1880.

Along the state’s central coast, nearly 5.4 inches of rain was recorded at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.

Reservoirs Fill, Wildfires Snuffed Out

Water levels at Lake Oroville rose 20 feet over the past week, according to the state’s Department of Water Resource. Most of the increase came between Saturday and Monday during the height of the storm, KHSL-TV reported.

Christy Brigham, chief of resource management and science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, said the rain was a big relief after the KNP Complex fire torched an unknown number of the giant trees in the park, along with thousands of pines and cedars.

“This amount of rainfall is what we call a season-ending event,” Brigham said. “It should end fire season, and it should end our need — to a large degree — to fight this fire.”

Drought Continues as Dry Weather Is Ahead

Despite the rain, weather experts say that California’s drought is far from over.

“To end different aspects of the drought, you are going to need a situation where parts of California get precipitation over the next three months that’s about 200% of normal,” said Justin Mankin, a geography professor at Dartmouth College and co-lead of the Drought Task Force at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Despite this really, really insane rainfall, the winter is probably going to be drier than average.”

In this photo provided by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, falling snow collects on cars in a parking lot at Mammoth Mountain, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Christian Pondella/Mammoth Mountain Ski Area via AP)

Associated Press contributed to this report.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

UP NEXT

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Bulldogs Stack Double-Doubles Like Burgers on a Plate to Beat Prairie View

UP NEXT

Fresno County Men Arrested in Armed Robbery Near Sanger High, Sanger Academy

UP NEXT

Suspect Arrested After Oakhurst Crime Spree Leaves K9 Injured

UP NEXT

With or Without Lockridge, Can Bulldogs Get Out of Their Own Way to Become Bowl Eligible?

UP NEXT

This Kitty Seeks a Quiet Home to Call Her Own

UP NEXT

Madera County Shooting Strikes K-9, Investigation Ongoing

UP NEXT

Former Bitwise Employees Settle for $20 Million: Fresno Attorney

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

11 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

11 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

11 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

12 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

12 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

12 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

13 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

13 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

13 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

13 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

10 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

10 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

11 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
11 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

11 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

12 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
12 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend