interesting weather stats

This is for all the weather geeks out there (like me!). From the National Weather Service office in Sacramento:

THE MAJORITY OF INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ENDED UP WITH ABOVE
NORMAL RAINFALL THIS WATER YEAR...

THE JULY 1, 2010 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2011 WATER YEAR PRECIPITATION
TOTALS GENERALLY FELL BETWEEN 110% AND 140% OF NORMAL. THIS WAS
DESPITE A VERY DRY JANUARY, WHICH NORMALLY PROVIDES A HIGHER
PERCENTAGE OF ANNUAL RAINFALL THAN ANY OTHER MONTH.

THE 2010-2011 PRECIPITATION SEASON WAS DOMINATED BY A MODERATE TO
STRONG LA NINA. IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, LA NINA WINTERS TREND TOWARD
NEAR NORMAL PRECIPITATION IN THE SIERRA AND SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL
RAINFALL IN THE VALLEYS. LA NINA HAS A TENDENCY TO PRODUCE EARLY
SEASON SHOWERY STORM SYSTEMS THAT DROP INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FROM
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THESE CAN BE FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF WARMER
AND DRIER WEATHER, AND LATER BY COLD OUTBREAKS IN DECEMBER, JANUARY
AND FEBRUARY.

LA NINA WINTERS TEND TO END EARLY AND ARE OFTEN FOLLOWED BY A WARM
SPRING AND SUMMER. STRONGER LA NINA/S HAVE A CORRELATION TOWARD
ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. SNOW OFTEN FALLS IN THE SIERRA
IN SHORT, INTENSE BURSTS. THERE CAN BE LONG BREAKS BETWEEN STORMY
PATTERNS, SIMILAR TO THE ONE WE SAW FROM JANUARY THROUGH
MID-FEBRUARY OF 2011.

THE EPIC SNOWFALL THAT OCCURRED IN THE SIERRA IN MARCH WAS PARTIALLY
CAUSED BY STRONG BURSTS OF ENERGY EMANATING FROM THE WESTERN
PACIFIC. ADDITIONALLY, A TROPICAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM (KONA LOW)
DEVELOPED NEAR HAWAII. THIS PICKED UP COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF MOISTURE
FROM THE TROPICS WHICH BECAME ENTRAINED INTO THE JET STREAM AND MOVED
OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. MANY STATIONS IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
SIERRA SET MONTHLY SNOWFALL RECORDS IN MARCH.

IN THE VALLEYS, DECEMBER RAINFALL WAS WELL ABOVE NORMAL IN DECEMBER,
BUT A FULL 2 TO 5 INCHES BELOW NORMAL IN JANUARY. STORMINESS
INCREASED BY MID-FEBRUARY, BUT REDDING AND RED BLUFF STILL RECEIVED
BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH. PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM ABOVE
NORMAL TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL FOR MARCH DEPENDING ON THE TRACKS OF
INDIVIDUAL STORM SYSTEMS. APRIL PRECIPITATION WAS SOMEWHAT BELOW
NORMAL WHILE MAY WAS A COOL AND SHOWERY MONTH. THE THE COOL AND
SHOWERY WEATHER SEEMED TO GO ON AND ON THIS SPRING. HOWEVER, ON
AVERAGE THE MONTH OF MAY CONTRIBUTES ONLY 4 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL
SEASONAL RAINFALL, SO STATISTICALLY THIS DID NOT PAD PRECIPITATION
TOTALS IN THE VALLEYS ALL THAT MUCH.

THE WET SPRING WAS NOT ENOUGH TO BRING RED BLUFF BACK TO NORMAL
PRECIPITATION TOTALS FOR THE SEASON. HOWEVER, THE MAJORITY OF
INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ENDED UP WITH ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL
THIS WATER YEAR.

HERE ARE RAINFALL TOTALS FROM SEVERAL STATIONS ACROSS THE CENTRAL
VALLEY...FROM REDDING IN THE NORTH...TO MODESTO IN THE SOUTH.

STATION WATER YEAR TOTAL NORMAL WATER YEAR PERCENT
(JULY 2010- TOTAL OF
JUNE 2011) NORMAL

REDDING AP............. 36.36 ............. 33.52 ..........108%

RED BLUFF AP........... 20.02 ............. 24.16 .......... 83%

SACRAMENTO EXEC. AP.....23.98 ............. 17.93 ..........134%

DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO.... 24.83 ............. 19.87 ..........125%

STOCKTON AP.............16.52 ............. 13.84 ..........119%

MODESTO AP..............15.36 ............. 13.12 ..........117%