As the rain falls, people wait for appointments outside the John E. Moss Federal Building on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Sacramento. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla toured the inside of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations holding center to monitor conditions that morning.
RENÉE C. BYER
rbyer@sacbee.com
Skies were clearing Friday after the first widespread rain across the Golden State, with several inches falling in locations from Southern California north to the Oregon border.
Across the Central Valley, rainfall totals between a tenth of an inch and an inch were widespread during the storm, which started Tuesday evening and concluded Friday morning, with some notable differences from place to place. Sacramento International Airport officially recorded 0.45 inches, while 0.24 inches was measured at the Sacramento Executive Airport.
Official rainfall totals across California and the southwestern U.S. for this week’s storm. The Sacramento Bee 
Radar-estimated rainfall across Central California for this week’s storm. The Sacramento Bee
Further south, some of the highest totals in the valley were near Merced, which officially recorded 1.52 inches in the storm. Nearby Fresno and Modesto recorded 0.21 inches and 0.27 inches respectively, with much higher amounts in the nearby foothills.
It was Southern California that really put up the big numbers. One of the highest rain totals statewide was recorded in Morro Bay near San Luis Obispo, with a staggering 3.69 inches. San Luis Obispo itself recorded 1.14 inches, showing that heavy rain can be quite localized.
Radar estimated rainfall in the San Luis Obispo area for this week’s storm. The Sacramento Bee Looking ahead: more rain likely into early November
The wet season is only expected to pick up from here. Already there are early indications of another window for extended rain (and even snow in the mountains) in early November.
And with El Niño continuing to surge past records, more rainy days like Wednesday and Thursday will grow increasingly common statewide into the winter months, even more so than a usual winter.
The Sacramento Bee
Sean Macaday covers the weather for McClatchy Media in California. Originally from Chicago, Sean worked 6 years covering the weather on local television in Minnesota. He holds a bachelor’s degree in meteorology and marine science from the University of Miami.