Second wettest October on record in California

Northern California has been drenched this month, giving the state the second wettest October on record since the Department of Water Resources began keeping track in 1921.

The Lake Tahoe Airport on the South Shore received 7.3 inches of rain in October, just over double of the monthly average of 3.54 inches. This water is helping to fill Lake Tahoe, which rose during the wet mid-October storm by over 3 inches, adding 11 billion gallons of water to the lake.

The lake level gauge for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at Tahoe City rests at 6,220 feet, three feet below the natural rim. Over the past week, the gauge has shown water in the lake has flirted with getting to that rim. As of November 1, it shows the lake at 6222.86 ft.

California Water Resources Board monitors the rest of California and tracks water in the state's rivers and reservoirs. The largest reservoirs are located in Northern California, and they just received almost 400 percent of normal precipitation in October. Water officials stress that even though wet, it hasn't been enough to pull most of the state out of a drought, yet.

Rain has been falling into the ground, but not filling up the reservoirs they monitor on a daily basis. Lake Shasta, California's largest reservoir, is now at average, but just three of the 12 largest reservoirs are currently holding their historical average.

Rain in October at three El Dorado County monitoring stations:

9.5 inches at Caples Lake
11.99 inches at Silver Lake
13.72 inches at Pacific House

- Story by Paula Peterson