Above-average rain totals needed to recover from drought

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- California hopes to inch its way out of the ongoing drought one storm at a time. The National Weather Service says thanks to October's rainfall, combined with Tuesday's storm, the rain season is off to a strong start.

"If you look at the metric from October 1 until now, we are above average," said Andy Bollenbacher from NWS Hanford. "So we are at a good start to our water year."

On average, the city of Fresno would have received about 0.75 in. of rain by Nov. 8. So far this rain season, Fresno has seen over 1.25 in.

While Tuesday's storm isn't expected to bring significant accumulation, it is another small step in the right direction.

"That's not going to do a whole lot for our drought, but it's better than nothing," said Bollenbacher.

Ryan Jacobsen at the Fresno County Farm Bureau says every inch counts for local growers.

"Five to seven storms is the difference between a good year and a not-so-good year," he said.

But Jacobsen adds that California will need to have more than just a good rain season to make up for years past.

"We are in such a deficit right now after two years of drought, that we need somewhere in the neighborhood of, statewide, we need 140% of average just to be considered average," he said. "Because the reservoirs are so low at this point."