Minden received quarter annual precipitation in October

The first month of the water year saw more than a quarter of the total annual precipitation fall in Minden.

According to precipitation totals for October released by the National Weather Service earlier this week, the Douglas County seat received 2.26 inches of moisture during the month.

That's nearly four times the average precipitation of .58 inches, the highest percentage above average in the basin and 27 percent of the 8.38 inches for the year.

Next up was Markleeville with 3.69 inches, or three times its average of 1.22 inches for the month.

Caples Lake reported nearly twice its average moisture with 5.44 inches for the month.

Snow telemetry at Poison Flat reported 4.8 inches of moisture, Ebbetts Pass showed 6.1 inches and Monitor Pass got 2.5 inches.

The basin average was 221 percent of average for the month and 14 percent of the annual moisture.

Two storms provided most of the moisture for the month. On Oct. 4, a combination of warm Lake Tahoe and a cold storm dumped lake effect snows in a band across Carson and Smith Valleys. Smith reported more than five times its average precipitation for the month with 1.89 inches. Then on Oct. 13, a monsoon struck the Pacific coast dumping substantial amounts of rain and snow in the Sierra.

But for all the moisture in October, Natural Resources Conservation Service snow telemetry at Ebbetts Pass is showing 3 inches of snow containing less than an inch of moisture. Ebbetts typically receives 56 inches of moisture during the year. Seven inches of snow fell during the Oct. 13 storm.