New Year's Eve storm 2nd wettest day on record for San Francisco

The New Year's Eve storm didn't surpass the 1994 all-time single-day record. But it did surpass the second place record from 1881.

ByDrew Tuma, Spencer Christian, and Justin Mendoza KGO logo
Monday, January 2, 2023
New Year's Eve storm 2nd wettest day on record for San Francisco
The New Year's Eve storm didn't surpass the 1994 all-time single-day record. But it did surpass the second place record ... from 1881.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco was THIS close to breaking a record for the single-wettest day in the city's history.

The Bay Area was hit with a Level 2 storm according to ABC7's exclusive Storm Impact Scale on New Year's Eve on Saturday.

ABC7 News meteorologist Drew Tuma tweeted December was the wettest month all year at 4.76". He says the city saw 31 days worth of December rain fall in only 13 hours---from midnight to 1 p.m. Saturday.

MORE: Live look around Bay Area as Level 2 storm causes flooding on roads, highways

LIVE: Track rain in San Francisco Bay Area with Live Doppler 7

As of 3p.m. on Satruday, a rain gauge recorded downtown San Francisco at 5.33 inches. It was inching close to beating a record of 5.54" in a single day back on Nov. 5, 1994, according to the National Weather Service. That's 28 years ago.

Tuma says the NWS records go back to 1849.

So was Dec. 31, 2022, the last day of the year, the single-wettest calendar day on record in San Francisco?

No, but it was close.

Rain measured at 5.46" in downtown San Francisco, according to the National Weather Service.

But it did become the second rainiest single day surpassing a record from Jan. 29, 1881---which measured at 4.67"---142 years ago.

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