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A Wet Winter Is Coming to Nevada County. Here Is What to Do Now.

Forecasters expect a very wet late winter in California, peaking January through March. Here is what to fix on a Nevada County property while it is still dry.

Perry's Team
Perry's Team
3 min read

Forecasters are watching one of the strongest El Ninos on record set up in the Pacific. For California, that usually means rain.

The outlook favors above normal precipitation for the state, and the wettest stretch is expected to land in January, February, and March. Fall is expected to stay fairly dry.

That gap is the useful part. You have a few months of dry ground to fix the things that go wrong when it pours.

What a Wet Winter Actually Does to a Foothill Property#

Up here it is not the rain itself. It is where the water goes once it lands.

Water finds the low spot, the bare slope, and the blocked pipe. Then it takes soil with it. A gutter that overflows for three months quietly soaks the ground against your foundation.

None of that is dramatic on day one. It just gets worse every storm.

Clear the Gutters, Then Check Where They Dump#

Around Nevada City and Grass Valley, gutters fill with pine needles, not leaves. Needles pack tighter and drain slower.

Clear them after the needle drop finishes, usually late October or early November. Clearing in September means doing it twice.

Then follow the water. Run a hose down each downspout and go look at where it comes out. If it empties within a few feet of your foundation, extend it. That is a cheap fix now and an expensive one later.

A downspout emptying directly against a house foundation, next to one properly extended away from the structure

Walk Your Driveway and Ditches#

Long gravel driveways are the first thing to go in a wet winter. Water runs down the track, cuts a channel, and takes your gravel with it.

Clear the roadside ditches and culverts now. A culvert packed with needles and dirt is the same as no culvert at all.

If you already know the spot where your driveway washes every year, this is the fall to deal with it rather than regrading in February.

Bare Slopes Need Cover Before the Rain#

If you cleared brush this summer, some of your ground is now bare. Bare dirt on a slope is the single biggest erosion risk on a foothill property.

Cover it. Straw mulch, wattles across the slope, or a cover crop seeded early enough to root. Doing nothing means watching your topsoil end up in the ditch.

This is worth real attention in a year like this one.

Deal With the Limbs Now#

Wet snow and saturated ground bring down branches that survived every dry year before.

Look up. Anything dead, cracked, or leaning over your roof, your driveway, or your power drop is a winter problem waiting to happen.

Taking a limb down in October is ordinary work. Taking it off your roof in January is an emergency, and everybody in the county is calling the same people that week.

Do Not Skip the Fire Work#

A wet winter is not a free pass. Rain grows grass, and grass dries out by June.

Wet years often mean heavier fuel loads the following summer. Keep up your defensible space through the winter instead of letting it slide and starting over in spring. Our breakdown of defensible space costs covers what the county expects.

The Short List#

  • Gutters and roof. Clear after needle drop finishes, not before.
  • Downspouts. Follow the water and move it away from the foundation.
  • Ditches and culverts. Open them up while they are dry.
  • Bare slopes. Cover with straw, wattles, or seed.
  • Limbs. Take down anything dead over the roof or driveway.
  • Defensible space. Keep it up through winter.

Get It Done While the Ground Is Dry#

Every one of these is an ordinary job in October and a miserable one in February.

We handle the whole list on properties across Nevada County. See what our winter maintenance covers, or ask for a free estimate. Send a photo of the problem spot and Jay will follow up with a price. You can also call (530) 210-3990.

Common Questions

Is it really going to be a wet winter in Northern California?

Forecasters are tracking a very strong El Nino, with Pacific sea surface temperatures running more than 3 degrees Celsius above normal. The seasonal outlook favors above normal precipitation for California, concentrated in January through March. A seasonal outlook is a probability, not a promise, but the signal this year is unusually strong.

When should I clean my gutters before winter?

Late October or early November, after the pines finish dropping. Needle drop runs through September and October, so clearing in early September usually means doing it again. If you only clean once a year, do it at the end of the drop.

How do I stop my gravel driveway from washing out?

Get the water off the driving surface before it can run the length of the track. That means open ditches, clear culverts, and cross drains where the grade is long. Clearing the ditches in fall is the cheapest version of this fix. Regrading a washed out driveway in February costs several times more.

What is the cheapest thing I can do to protect my property before the rain?

Extend your downspouts. Getting roof water four to six feet away from the foundation costs very little and prevents the slow soaking that causes the most expensive problems. After that, clear your culverts.

Do I still need defensible space in a wet winter?

Yes. Wet winters grow more grass and brush, which dries out and becomes fuel the following summer. Properties often need more clearing after a wet year, not less. Keeping up through winter is easier than restarting in spring.

Should I worry about trees falling this winter?

Saturated ground plus wind brings down trees and limbs that stood through dry years. Walk your property and look for anything dead, cracked, or leaning over a roof, driveway, or power line. Handling it in fall is routine work. Handling it during a storm is not.

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