Sacramento El Niño Winter: How Business Owners Can Prepare

Sacramento County emergency officials told the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 3, 2026, that a strong El Niño could bring heavy rain and flooding this winter, and they urged residents and owners to prepare now.

A Sacramento El Niño winter is now the planning assumption for local emergency managers. At the Nov. 3, 2026, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meeting, the County Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the National Weather Service (NWS) Sacramento office presented storm-season preparations for an El Niño that could raise the chance of heavy rain, flooding and severe storms. For business owners, a wet winter can mean closed roads, power outages, damaged inventory and lost workdays, so the time to plan is before the first big storm.

Courtney Carpenter, an NWS meteorologist, said this year’s event is on track to be very strong and potentially record-breaking. Comstock’s magazine reported on Nov. 2, 2026, that the NWS cautioned in early October that the 2026-27 El Niño has a greater than 83 percent chance of becoming stronger than any El Niño since 1950. Officials also stress that El Niño raises the odds of a wet winter but does not guarantee one: of the last six El Niños in Northern California, three were wetter than average and three were drier.

Mary Jo Flynn, Sacramento County’s Chief of Emergency Services, said OES is coordinating with cities, special districts and nonprofits on flooding, downed trees and power outages. According to Comstock’s, the County stays in contact with reclamation districts along the Sacramento, Mokelumne and Cosumnes rivers, and the state can supply sandbags, crews and funding once a local emergency is declared.

Local history shows the stakes. Sacramento County records cited by Comstock’s put the February 1986 flood at 50,000 evacuations and $400 million in property damage across Northern California, and the 1997 Feather River levee break destroyed about 1,000 homes near today’s Plumas Lake.

The County’s advice applies to storefronts and offices as much as homes: sign up for emergency alerts at Ready.SacCounty.gov, keep supplies for a power loss, store copies of important documents somewhere waterproof, and consider flood insurance. Owners can also review evacuation routes, clear storm drains near their property and decide in advance how they will reach employees and customers if they have to close.

Key takeaways

The NWS says this El Niño is on track to be very strong and potentially record-breaking, though a wet winter is not guaranteed.
Sign up for County emergency alerts at Ready.SacCounty.gov and update contact information.
Plan for outages and flooding now: supplies, waterproof copies of key documents, a staff contact plan and a flood insurance review.