Lake Oroville Surges Over 6 Feet in a Day as Powerful Storm Soaks Northern California

A powerful atmospheric river sweeping across Northern California sent water rushing into Lake Oroville over the weekend, causing the reservoir to rise more than 6 feet in just one day.

According to data from the California Department of Water Resources, Lake Oroville climbed to about 781 feet, roughly 6.7 feet higher than Sunday, as intense rain fell across the Northern Sierra. The reservoir now sits at 54 percent capacity, which is 102 percent of its historical average for this time of year.

Atmospheric rivers—long, narrow corridors of moisture in the atmosphere—are known for delivering heavy rain and snow to the West Coast during winter. Over the past 24 hours, some parts of the Northern Sierra recorded up to 11 inches of rain, sending massive inflows downstream. At one point, Lake Oroville was taking in an estimated 67,000 cubic feet of water per second, equivalent to nearly 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools per hour.

The National Weather Service Sacramento warned that heavy rainfall would continue through Monday, with the storm intensifying again Tuesday night. Officials cautioned that Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas could bring major mountain travel impacts, while conditions are expected to dry out heading into the weekend.

Flood-related alerts and winter storm watches remain in effect across parts of California, and residents are urged to remain storm-ready.

Lake Shasta, California’s largest reservoir, also saw a rise, climbing more than 1.5 feet over the same period.