Precipitation today could be sign of things to come

More rain will fall in Marin County this weekend, feeding reservoirs and offering some respite from early wildfire risks.

A new system was expected to arrive in the county last night or this morning, bringing around an inch of rain to areas already dampened by a storm a few days prior, said Drew Peterson, meteorologist at National Weather Service.

“This is about as good as you can get,” Peterson said. “I wouldn't be surprised if it overperforms for Marin County.”

A system moving south from the Pacific Ocean is bringing more moderate rainfall to Marin and the Bay Area. Rain is expected to last through the day today. Forecasts show it to be “similar” to the previous storm, although less precipitation is anticipated.

Easter Sunday in Marin is expected to be mostly sunny and cool with a high of 63 degrees.

The storm this weekend is forecast to drop up to an inch of rain on Mount Tamalpais, up to one-third of an inch in Novato, a halfinch in Point Reyes and San Rafael, up to half an inch in Tiburon and Sausalito and two-thirds of an inch in Mill Valley.

During the last storm Wednesday night through Thursday, Mt. Tam received 2.58 inches of rain. Point Reyes National Seashore had 0.47 inches, San Rafael registered 0.08 to 0.16 inches, Novato reported 0.15 to 0.25 inches, Tiburon had 0.29 inches and Mill Valley logged 0.96 to 1.81 inches, according to the weather agency.

Peterson said the rain was “substantial” considering how dry it was between January and March. He said total rainfall in the second half of April might exceed all the rainfall in the previous 31/2 months.

The National Weather Service is also tracking two systems that might bring more rain to Marin next week.

“It shows how variable these rainy seasons can be from year to year,” he said.

No flooding is expected as a result of the storms.

The Marin Municipal Water District said it has recorded 46.68 inches of rain from July through Thursday. The total is 96.29% of the average rainfall of 48.16

inches for the date. Marinarea reservoirs are at 72,176 acre-feet, or 90.71% of capacity.

Heavy storms back in October and December raised hopes of easing the drought, but January and February were the driest on record dating back to 1921. The statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack, which fulfills about 30% of the state's water needs, was at 168% of normal on New

Year's Day but had dwindled to 25% as of Thursday, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday that about 96% of California is in “severe drought,” an increase from 87% from the beginning of March, while about 47% of the state is in “extreme drought,” up from 13%. Extreme drought has spread to the North Coast, and all nine Bay Area counties are in a severe drought.