See record stats from 'once-in-a-lifetime' California storm

Drew Tuma Image
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Fujiwhara Effect: Why the wind was so intense in the Bay Area
It is fair to say that Tuesday's storm was unprecedented. ABC7 News meteorologist Drew Tuma explains the Fujiwhara Effect here.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It is fair to say Tuesday's storm was unprecedented. California and the San Francisco Bay Area has never experienced a March storm as strong as the one we just went through, according to ABC7 News meteorologist Drew Tuma.

Here are some record statistics:

Pressure

Pressure dropped to 984.4mb, beating the monthly record of 990.2mb. Just like hurricanes, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.

Once-in-a-lifetime storm

The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, based in San Diego, tweeted saying this is a once-in-a-lifetime storm for California. These are the same people that developed the Atmospheric River Scale back in 2017.

RELATED: Destructive winds beat Santa Cruz coastline during latest Bay Area storm

The latest storm to hit the Bay Area brought destructive winds, power outages and downed trees to Santa Cruz.

San Francisco rainfall

Since October 1, San Francisco has now received more than 30 inches of rain. You'd have to go back to the very strong El Nino winter of 1997-1998 to find a wetter 5 month period. We're even doing better than the drought-busting winter of 2016-2017.

Rainfall in CA

More than 100 inches of rain since Nov. 1 was measured at the Monterey County Water Resources Agency automated rain gauge at Three Peaks -- elevation 3,362 ft.

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