2021 a wetter year than 2020 for Lake County; rains raise lake level

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Clear Lake, seen here from Lucerne Harbor Park in Lucerne, California, is rising thanks to recent rains. Photo courtesy of the Konocti Bait Shack.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — While California is still considered to be in a drought, 2021 has been a better year for rainfall based on National Weather Service data.

The US Drought Monitor reported that all of California is in a drought, with much of it in the “extreme” designation and an area of the state’s southern portion is in the “exceptional” category.

Lake County is among the areas reported as being in an extreme drought, for a second year in a row.

The US Drought Monitor reports that Lake County has been in some state of drought — ranging from abnormally dry to extreme and exceptional drought — seven of the last 11 years.

This year, Clear Lake has fallen to its lowest since the drought of the late 1970s, reaching nearly -2.5 feet Rumsey, the special measure for the lake, in November, according to United States Geological Survey data.

However, the rains so far this fall and winter are improving conditions.

As of 1 a.m. Thursday, Clear Lake was at -0.02 feet Rumsey, having risen nearly a foot and a half since the second week of December, according to the US Geological Survey gauge on the lake.

The National Weather Service’s Eureka office said it didn’t have reliable or consistent snow data for Lake County for 2020 or 2021, but it did have rainfall totals for five sites for both years. Totals for 2021 are as of Tuesday afternoon.

That information showed that southeast Clearlake received 4.35 inches of rain in 2020, compared to 13.13 inches in 2021; northeast Clearlake Oaks, 5.59 inches in 2020 and 22 inches in 2021; north Lakeport, 6.96 inches in 2020 and 24.01 inches in 2021; southeast Middletown, 20.48 inches of rain in 2020, 43.61 inches in 2021; and western Upper Lake, 16.11 inches in 2020, 36.53 inches in 2021.

The fall and winter storms have bulked up California’s snowpack.

As of early Thursday, the California Department of Water Resources’ California Data Exchange Center said the Northern Sierra was 145% of normal for this date, with the Central Sierra at 162% of normal and the Southern Sierra at 167% of normal.

Following the early winter storms, the California Department of Water Resources said it will conduct the first Phillips Station snow survey of the season on Thursday.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.