Interior Northern California is still experiencing widespread drought. For the month of December, there were no changes made to drought severity levels in the region.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS STO wrote it up.
Interior Northern California is still experiencing widespread drought. For the month of December, there were no changes made to drought severity levels in the region. Much of the region remains in severe to extreme drought with portions of the northern San Joaquin as high as exceptional drought. Many local and regional, as well as state-wide restrictions continue. Agricultural surface water deliveries continue to be significantly reduced. The state-wide drought declaration by Governor Gavin Newsom continues. Mandatory water restrictions are in place on outdoor water use for all Californians with possible fines for violators. Agriculture and most of the state’s energy development are water-intensive industries and have less water for those purposes.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 3:44 PM PST, 8 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sacramento CA 344 PM PST Wed Nov 30 2022 .SYNOPSIS... A strong winter storm arrives tonight through Thursday with heavy mountain snow followed by a second winter storm and more heavy snow over the weekend. Cold and dry weather returns next week. && .DISCUSSION... Today has been a cool and dry day, but an approaching storm will bring a big change to area weather. Satellite shows high clouds streaming ahead of the storm across Northern California, with low low clouds already spreading into the far northern part of the area. Radar shows precipitation just to the northwest of the area, and that will spread in this evening. Tonight through Thursday this storm will bring rain, heavy mountain snow and gusty winds. Snowfall amounts of 1 to 3 feet are expected in the mountains, locally up to 4 feet. The biggest change to the forecast has been in faster timing. The main precipitation band with first storm will be exiting quicker, so the end times of the Winter Storm Warnings have been moved up, with the Warning for the Shasta County mountains, northern Coastal Range for above 2000 feet is now ending at noon. Snow totals of 10 to 30 inches are expected. Heavy snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour are possible, per the HREF, bringing poor visibility, and this could bring significant impacts to mountain roads and higher portions of I-5. The Winter Storm Warning for the northern Sierra is now ending midnight Thursday night, with the heaviest snow band moving through 4 am to noon. Heavy snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches an hour are possible. When coupled with strong, gusty winds (up to 55 to 65 mph in the high mountains) this will bring whiteout conditions. Driving during this period is strongly discouraged! Snow totals of 1 to 3 feet are expected above 3000 feet, with amounts up to 4 feet possible above 6000 feet. Travel will be difficult or impossible. While the snowfall will rapidly wind down Thursday night some lingering travel problems are possible into Friday morning. A narrow cold frontal rain band will pass through the Valley aroound morning commute time for the I-80 corridor and Sacramento metro area, so expect some travel delays. A period of gusty winds is also possible with this, gusting to 35 mph. There will be a break in the weather on Friday as Storm #1 exits. Friday morning looks quite cold and could see some foggy conditions as skies clear, with moist ground and light winds. Areas of frost are possible with lows near freezing. Dry conditions are expected through the day before the next cold low from the Gulf of Alaska approaches. That system has deepened and slowed down some, with precipitation now spreading in overnight, instead of the evening. With cold air already in place some light snow is possible down into the northern Sacramento Valley, but amounts for Redding and Red Bluff are currently expected to be an inch or less. Snow levels will rise to generally 3000-4000 feet with the heavier precipitation mainly Saturday night through Sunday. && .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (Sunday THROUGH Wednesday)... Confidence in the details for the second storm are a bit uncertain, with ensembles now tending to show a deeper, slower system with heavy snow continuing through the day and even potentially lingering into Monday. The mountains could see another 1 to 3 feet of snowfall, bringing very difficult weekend driving conditions. Stay tuned for more details! Dry and cold weather then expected through the first half of next week with high temperatures around 5-10 degrees below average along with very cold overnight temperatures. In the mountains, single digits and teens are forecast in the mountain valleys with 20s elsewhere. In the Central Valley, several mornings of readings around the freezing mark are expected (Monday-Thursday), with record lows even possible in some spots. && .AVIATION... General VFR conditions through this afternoon. Precipitation will spread inland tonight with MVFR / local IFR conditions in the Valley and IFR conditions over the mountains. Gusty south to southwest winds will develop after 03Z Thursday, strongest in the northern and central Sacramento Valley with gusts 25 to 35 kts, and over the Sierra with gusts 45 to 55 kts. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning until noon PST Thursday for Burney Basin / Eastern Shasta County-Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County-Shasta Lake Area / Northern Shasta County- West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada-Western Plumas County/Lassen Park. &&
10 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept all of Zone 13 in extreme drought (D3). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor removed the western portions of Zone 69 from extreme drought (D3) and changed it to severe drought (D2) due to improvement in conditions due to wet weather through the month. The area joined the rest of the rest of the area, which remains in severe drought (D2).
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept all of Zone 15 in extreme drought (D3). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept all of Zone 16 in extreme drought (D3). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept all of Zone 17 in extreme drought (D3). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept the eastern portion of Zone 19 in extreme drought (D3) with the remainder of the zone in severe drought (D2). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept the northern and western portions of Zone 66 in extreme drought (D3) with the remainder of the zone in severe drought (D2). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept approximately the western half of Zone 14 in extreme drought (D3) with the remainder of the zone in severe drought (D2). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept the eastern portion of Zone 18 in extreme drought (D3) with the remainder of the zone in severe drought (D2). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
For the month of December, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept the majority of Zone 63 in extreme drought (D3) with the far western border of the zone remaining in severe drought (D2). Drought conditions could improve with above normal precipitation in the month continuing.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2022
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1066889, 1066890, 1066891, 1066892, 1066893, 1066894, 1066895, 1066896, 1066897, 1066898.