Here’s how much rain San Diego has received during the El Niño winter so far

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Powerful winter storms have slammed San Diego over the last few weeks, bringing intense downpours that have shattered local records in some parts of the county.

This rainfall, brought during the region’s first El Niño winter in nearly five years, has overwhelmed neighborhoods with widespread flash flooding and landslides.

The impacts of these storms have been monumental for San Diegans, but they came after weeks of little to no rain that marked a slow start to a winter anticipated to be on the wetter side.

Now that the normal “wet season” is more than halfway through, some may be asking just how close the El Niño winter has been compared to initial expectations.

Pacific storm system to bring cool, wet weather to San Diego County: NWS

According to the National Weather Service, it’s been a slightly above normal year for rainfall so far, with most of the county reporting totals that have already met or are nearing the area’s annual averages.

While there is still a ways to go before San Diego County meets last year’s historic totals, it marks a stark reversal from the slow start most of the state saw during the first few months of the region’s first El Nino winter in nearly five years.

Across six of the NWS’ climate reporting sites, San Diego has received an average rainfall of about 9.89 inches of rainfall since the start of the water year, which is the 12-month period between Oct. 1 and Sep. 30 that is used to measure precipitation totals. The vast majority of this rain was recorded during the storms in late January and mid-February.

On average, most of the county west of the mountains receives an average of about 10 inches of rain per year while those in the mountains get about 33 inches, according to the San Diego Water Authority.

Accumulated precipitation totals in NWS’ report when looked at by neighborhood remain fairly consistent across the board, ranging from about 8.50 to 11.67 inches to date in rainfall.

Of the six reporting stations, Oceanside came in first with the most precipitation this water year so far, totaling about 11.67 inches. Carlsbad, who received more than double their average rainfall last year, closely follows at 10.99 inches recorded since October.

Below is a breakdown of total accumulated precipitation in inches from October to present at six of NWS’ reporting stations, including comparisons with the last five water years.

According to NWS, San Diego County’s wet season during the water year typically continues through the end of March and into early April.

During this time, meteorologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say El Niño could continue to bring above normal chances for cold, wet conditions to the county before it begins to fade between April and June.

Slew of storms add billions of gallons of water to San Diego’s reservoirs

Although, it’s unclear whether San Diego will see more powerful storms like those that pummeled the region earlier this year, pushing rainfall totals up closer to last year’s records.

The next storm, which is anticipated to hit early next week, is not expected to be as strong of a downpour on the county as previous ones this year, as the main leg of the storm is anticipated to hit farther north in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

According to NWS, San Diego County areas could see anywhere from 0.25 to 1.5 inches of rain accumulated between Monday and Wednesday.

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