SAN DIEGO — Unrelenting storms have pounded the west coast since the new year, leading to more rainfall in San Diego during the small part of 2023 than the entire year in 2022. From January through December 2022, San Diego measured 5.90” of rain in total. So far in 2023 – just from January through March 15 – San Diego has measured 9.11” of rain. The monitoring site for the City of San Diego is located at the San Diego International Airport. The same trend was recorded in Oceanside and Ramona.
Oceanside measured 6.15” of rain in 2022, and has easily surpassed that so far in 2023 with 12.34” from January through March 15 this year. Ramona saw 9.15” during the 2022 calendar year, but 15.25” just this far into 2023.
The eleventh ‘atmospheric river’ storm to hit the state of California with heavy rain, wind, and mountain snow arrived from late Tuesday through Wednesday with daily records for March 15 shattered in many cities around San Diego County.
Oceanside broke their previous daily record of a mere 0.6” on March 15, 1982. Their new record is for 2023, with 4.21” through the day. Palomar Mountain saw 5.22” of rain Wednesday, breaking their previous March 15 record set back in 1952.
Here’s a look at what the entire storm brought across the county with two day storm totals from Tuesday through Wednesday:
The parade of storms has also made quite the dent in our water year so far. Our water year is a 12 month measure of total rain beginning on October 1. It is measured from October 1 to the following September 30 in order to incorporate the entirety of the winter season. This winter season has proven to be an abnormally wet one. San Diego has recorded 11.82” this water year, a 3.82” surplus compared to normal. For cities like Oceanside, Ramona, and Carlsbad, totals have come in 6” to 7” above normal.
Yet another storm (the twelfth atmospheric river of the year) is preparing to make an arrival from Monday into Tuesday. You can stay in tune to the latest CBS 8 weather forecast here.
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