Mid-winter dry spells 50

The chart compares total annual rainfall with the longest stretch of consecutive dry days during the peak rainy
period from Nov. 26 to Feb. 6 each year. Bars represent dry days, and the colors signify whether it was an El Niño 1997-’98: 47.22 inches
or La Niña year. The rainfall season runs from July 1 to June 30. TO DATE
13 dry days
1962-’63: 42 days
since Jan. 14 40
El Niño La Niña
Strong
12.95 inches
RAINFALL Moderate
(in inches) 1989-’90: 36 days

30

20

DRY
DAYS

10

1975-’76: 7.95 inches

0
’50-’51 ’59-’60 ’60-’61 ’69-’70 ’70-’71 ’79-’80 ’80-’81 ’89-’90 ’90-’91 ’99-’00 ’00-’01 ’09-’10 ’10-’11
1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
“Dry spell” is defined as consecutive days with no rain, or consecutive dry days broken by no more than two non-consecutive intervening days of very light (less than 0.08 inches) rain.
Source: Golden Gate Weather Services John Blanchard / The Chronicle