Thanks to storms, S.F. off to wettest start to year in a half century

As of Monday, 21.85 inches of rain had fallen in San Francisco. That total is the largest since nearly 24 inches of rain had fallen in late 1972 and early 1973.

Just how abnormal are those amounts? Seven of the 10 largest totals, which have been recorded since 1849, occurred in the 19th century. This year is the only representative from the 21st century. 

All of 2023's peer years experienced at least 33 inches of rainfall. Thirty-three inches of rain haven't fallen in San Francisco during a single water year since 2006, with 2017 (32.3 inches) coming closest. 

As the calendar flipped from 2022 to 2023, a series of atmospheric rivers drenched San Francisco, the Bay Area and the rest of the state.

The wet, windy weather downed hundreds of trees, left millions of residents without power and killed nearly two dozen people. Sewage poured into the San Francisco Bay, and The City has had to confront the reality that far-reaching floods could be hear to stay. The rain also eased drought conditions across the state, but didn't end the historic dry period.

It's possible the 2020s — and future years — could start pushing out previous ones in the National Weather Service's records. A study published last week in the journal Nature Climate Change indicated that global warming is making storms wetter, and worst-case climate scenarios could cause trillions of additional gallons of rain than the storms that just soaked the state.