California Annual Rainfall and Climate Data

Driest location ranked by lowest annual average precipitation: Cow Creek, Death Valley, 1.60"

Wettest location ranked by highest annual average precipitation: Honeydew, northern California, 104.18"

Snowiest location ranked by highest annual average snowfall: Blue Canyon, central California, 240.8"

State precipitation record for 24 hours - Hoegees Camp, Arcadia California, 1/26/1942, 26.12"

State precipitation record for 1 year - Monumental, California, northwestern California, 1909, 153.54"

State snowfall record for 24 hours - Echo Summit, Lake Tahoe area, 1/4/1962, 67" (5.6 feet), second 
greatest 24-hour snowfall in U.S. history.

State snow record for 1 season - Tamarack, central California, 1906-1907, 884.0" (74 feet), the U.S record

The Mount Shasta Ski Bowl in northern California holds the U.S. single storm snowfall record with a total of 
189" (15.75 ft) on February 13-19, 1959.

Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno and Sacramento all average less than 4 days per year with daily precipitation 
of 1.00" or greater

18% of California's weather reporting stations average 10.00" or less of precipitation per year.

California possesses two cities that are among the Top 5 driest cities in the nation: Bishop and Bakersfield

Temperature differences along the coast in the Los Angeles area can be dramatic. At the Santa Monica coast, the average
August high is 75 F, while in Burbank approximately 10 miles inland, the average high in August is 90 F.

Compared to other parts of the country that typically receive light, powdery snow. The wet, heavy snow 
that falls in the mountains of California carries a very high water content. Sometimes called the “Sierra Cement,” 
six inches of snow depth can contain an inch of water; over twice the water content of fluffy, powdered snow. The very 
high water content that these snows provide is a critical source of water for California.

The most catastrophic California flooding of record occurred in the winter of 1861–1862, when there were record  
floods over the entire length of the state. During December and January, many places received 200% to 400% of 
their average rainfall. As a result, the Central Valley became a large (5,000 square mile) inland lake. The size 
of this lake made it twice as large as the Great Salt Lake and would currently make it the 18th largest lake in the 
world. The city of Sacramento was under several feet of water, and newly elected Governor Leland Stanford had 
to be rowed to his inauguration. Weather scientists estimate that the event was a once-in-a-30,000-year event.

Precipitation data for other U.S. states
Data source: National Climatic Data Center

City	Avg Annual Precip	Avg Annual Snow	Avg. # days of Precip	Avg # thunderstorm days	Avg # hail days	Avg annual wind/highest record wind
Bakersfield	6.49	0.0	37	2	0	6.4 / 49 mph
Bishop	5.02	8.2	29	32	0	10.0 / 70 mph
Blue Canyon	68.00	240.0	90	12	0	6.7 / 76 mph
Eureka	38.10	0.2	117	4	1	6.8 / 56 mph
Fresno	11.23	0.1	44	5	1	6.4 / 39 mph
Long Beach	12.94	0.0	32	1	0	6.2 / 44 mph
Los Angeles	13.15	0.0	35	1	0	7.5 / 62 mph
Mount Shasta	39.16	104.9	93	13	0	5.1 / 24 mph
Redding	33.52	4.2	75	11	1	6.6 / 64 mph
Sacramento	17.93	0.0	58	2	1	7.8 / 74 mph
San Diego	10.77	0.0	42	5	0	7.0 / 56 mph
San Francisco	13.15	0.0	66	5	1	10.6 / 58 mph
Santa Barbara	16.93	0.0	31	6	0	6.0 / 45 mph
Santa Maria	14.01	0.0	45	2	0	6.9 / 46 mph
Stockton	13.84	0.0	51	1	0	8.0 / 47 mph
California State Precipitation Avg - 22.20 inches - 40th wettest in the U.S. California Tornado Average - 5 per year - 32nd most in the U.S.