January was DRY, but Almanor Basin still above normal for precipitation

By Dale Knutsen

Special to Plumas News

There was no measurable snowfall in the Lake Almanor basin in January and not quite an inch of rain.  Thankfully our heavy precipitation during October and December deposited enough moisture to keep the area a bit wetter than average in spite of a disappointing January.

The current west shore seasonal snowfall accumulation remains at 84.5 inches, which is 117 percent of the long-term average for this point in the year.  Total precipitation at the Prattville monitoring site is 23.2 inches, or 129 percent of average.
It’s a mixed story on temperatures.  Our average morning low was 16.9 degrees F., nearly three degrees colder than the norm for January.  But our average high was 50.1 degrees, over eight degrees warmer than the long-term figure.  Our minimum low was zero and our maximum high was 57 degrees.  Even with most days reaching highs above freezing our collection of ice does not seem to be diminishing.

Sadly, the extended forecast does not show any wet weather for the first part of February.  But we could still receive substantial precipitation during late February and March, so the prospects are still there.