S.F. rainfall has now exceeded normal for a full season: Here are the numbers

One time use: San Francisco rainfall exceeded normal for a full season as of Feb. 20 at 5 a.m. One time use: San Francisco rainfall exceeded normal for a full season as of Feb. 20 at 5 a.m. Photo: Jan Null Photo: Jan Null Image 1 of / 79 Caption Close S.F. rainfall has now exceeded normal for a full season: Here are the numbers 1 / 79 Back to Gallery

San Francisco's total rainfall surpassed normal for a full season as of 5 a.m. Monday.

Average rainfall for a season, running October 1 to September 30, is 23.65 inches.

S.F. had seen 24.38 inches as of this morning. The total reached this benchmark after a moisture-packed storm driven by an atmospheric river walloped Northern California. The City by the Bay received nearly an inch in 24 hours.

It's nearly impossible to exaggerate this milestone after five seasons marked by drought and below-average rainfall.

"We haven't even reached rainfall in an entire season in five years," said Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services. "The fact that we've gotten there in the middle of February is noteworthy."

A series of weather systems known as atmospheric rivers have blasted Northern California since the start of the year, resulting in impressive rainfall totals around the Bay Area.

These plumes of vapor originate in the Pacific, and collect tropical moisture as they travel across the ocean. Upon making landfall, they turn on like fire hoses, spewing rain and snow.

Northern California typically sees one or two atmospheric rivers in the winter. This year they've hit in rapid succession and the region has had at least five.

As a result of these storms, the state's reservoirs are brimming, the snowpack is well above average and the drought is over in most of Northern California. The rainfall totals are far higher than anything the state has seen since the start of the drought.