"Sacramento and the lower Sacramento Valley are blessed with a mild climate and an abundance of sunshine the year-round. The summers are virtually cloudless with warm, dry days and mild, pleasant nights. During the winter "rainy season" (November through February), over half the total annual precipitation falls, yet rain in measurable amounts occurs only about 10 days monthly during the winter. Mountains surround the Sacramento Valley to the west, north and east. The Sierra Nevada snowfields are only 70 miles east of Sacramento and usually provide a plentiful supply of water to the valley streams during the dry season. Because of the shielding influence of the high mountains, winter storms reach the valley in a modified form. However, torrential rain and heavy snow frequently fallen the western Sierra slopes, the southern Cascades, and to a lesser extent, the Coastal Range. As a result, flood conditions occasionally occur along the Sacramento River and its tributaries. Excessive rainfall and damaging wind storms are rare in the valley"--Page 1