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Stories from the valley

What to expect this Winter following an epic Water Year

Contributed by Jim Morris

It will be quite some time before memories fade of last winter, with more than 30 atmospheric rivers, flooding and the Oroville Spillway collapse. Our weather to date this fall has been milder, and there are indications that may continue through winter.

Meteorologist/Forecast Operations Specialist Will Farr with Western Weather Group in Chico is keeping close watch on what the future may hold, and told me it looks like this year will be much closer to an average year for rain and snowfall.

“Computer models seem fairly confident that the Sacramento Valley will see below normal precipitation in December,” he said. “Models seem less confident, but still suggest that January could be slightly dryer than normal.” After that, he said the rest of winter could be a little wetter than normal, but likely nothing akin to last year’s bombardment.

As the season progresses, we hope to provide updates on rain and snowfall expectations through winter.