For this point in the water year — which starts in October — the totals are around twice the average at many Bay Area spots. November was drier than normal, and December brought about double the average rainfall.

The totals below are from Dec. 1 to Jan. 16 at National Weather Service stations.

The site of the greatest reading, Uvas Canyon, is at 1,100 feet elevation near the Casa Loma fire station, about 2 miles east of Loma Prieta.

To the south, Mining Ridge, at 3,288 feet elevation in Big Sur, has recorded 84.16 inches from Dec. 1 to this week.

Read more: 35 key figures that sum up the atmospheric river blitz

The new law is intended to ensure that seniors and other adults — in particular those who rely on cannabis for medicinal reasons — have access marijuana vaping products. Proposed by Supervisor Diane Burgis, the ordinance allows permitted cannabis retailers located in unincorporated areas to sell and deliver the products.

The ordinance passed 3-2 with supervisors Federal Glover and Candace Anderson voting no.

During the first reading of the ordinance on Dec. 6, Burgis said the motivation behind the revised ordinance was that the 2019 law hurt seniors and other adults who rely on cannabis vaping products for both recreational and medical reasons. In particular, it affected homebound seniors in unincorporated areas, she said.

“What we’re trying to do by having policies here in Contra Costa County is to give people a way to access safe products,” Burgis said.

At the December meeting, both Glover and Anderson voted against the ordinance, saying it would send mixed messages to the public and betray an effort led by Contra Costa youth who wanted the ban in the first place.

“We clearly took a leadership position back in 2019 when we had a number of our students throughout this county that came before us and asked for the leadership to put this ban in place,” Glover said. “And I’m not going to turn away from that. I think it’s important that that we listen to our youth when they cry out and ask for this help.”

Glover said there is no evidence “that vaping does not cause problems to individuals” and partially lifting the ban would send “false messages or confusing messages to our public that it’s OK to do this this while at the same time saying that we want to prevent it.”

On Tuesday, groups advocating for cannabis access told the Board of Supervisors that banning pot vape products has created an illicit black market for the product and disproportionately affected vulnerable populations who rely on cannabis primarily for medical reasons.

Renee Lee, a resident of the retirement community of Rossmoor who runs an organization with a mission to help seniors legally access and safety use cannabis, said the majority of medicinal cannabis users in the unincorporated community near Walnut Creek prefer vaping.

“I am so happy,” Lee said after Tuesday’s vote. “It’s like a big weight off my shoulders … (the ordinance) had been very unfair.”

Sarah Armstrong of American for Safe Access, the country’s largest and oldest advocacy organization for medical cannabis patients, said forcing people to travel medicinal marijuana “often stimulates a black market because they simply cannot go to the nearest dispensary if they don’t have one near them.”

Before the vote, Burgis emphasized that the ordinance makes no change to the current ban of tobacco and flavored tobacco vaping products; nor does it allow for new dispensaries in unincorporated areas.

“This does allow the sale of one particular set of cannabis products, which are already sold in many cities of Contra Costa County and are available to purchase in nearly every other part of the state that has approved cannabis retail sales,” she said.

In passing the ordinance, the board also directed Contra Costa Health Services to begin working on an awareness program about the dangers of youth cannabis vaping. Supervisor John Gioia said creation of such a program was a major factor in his decision to support the new legislation.

The following totals from the National Weather Service are from Saturday, Jan. 7 — when rain began in the evening for most of the Bay Area — through 6 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 12. They are raw numbers, not yet checked for quality control.

The site of the greatest reading, Uvas Canyon, is at 1,100 feet elevation near the Casa Loma fire station, about 2 miles east of Loma Prieta.

Higher totals were reported to the south: Mining Ridge, at 3,288 feet elevation in Big Sur, had 21 inches.

Find the chart for the previous week of rain here.

The following totals from the National Weather Service are from Dec. 30 through 6 a.m. Friday, Jan. 6. They are raw numbers, not yet checked for quality control.

The site of the greatest total, Scott Creek, is at 2,300 feet elevation near Empire Grade, south of Big Basin State Park.

That state is Utah.

The Beehive State has produced the best school-for-school performance of the 11 states that encompass the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones.

That’s not a gobsmacking development, because Utah has always taken basketball seriously at all levels. But the depth of quality across the Division I teams is impressive.

Five of the seven have at least twice as many wins as losses:

Brigham Young: 12-5Utah: 11-4Utah State: 13-2Utah Valley: 11-4Southern Utah: 10-5

(The other two, Utah Tech and Weber State, are just above and below .500, respectively.)

Plenty of the 57 wins generated by the quintet above have come against second- and third-tier competition. But there are several quality results, as well:

— Utah Valley won at Oregon and lost at Wake Forest by three points.

— Utah State handled Washington State and won by 18 points in the same gym (San Francisco’s) where Arizona State lost by 37.

— Brigham Young beat Creighton and Utah.

— Utah beat Arizona.

Given the current NET rankings and placements in conference standings, it’s hardly unreasonable to believe four of the seven could qualify for the NCAA Tournament via the at-large pool or by winning their league tournaments.

It’s one of several storylines to watch with two months remaining until Selection Sunday.

To the latest Best of the West rankings …

*** Disclaimer: In some cases, the order below does not reflect placement in my Associated Press top-25 ballot, which tracks with guidelines provided by the AP.

Also considered: Boise State, Brigham Young, Nevada, Santa Clara, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV and USC

(NET rankings through Wednesday’s games)

1. Arizona (13-1/2-1 Pac-12)

Results: won at Arizona State 69-60Next up: vs. Washington (Thursday)NET ranking: 4Comment: The Wildcats have five wins over Quadrant I opponents, which is tied with Kansas for the highest total in the country.

2. UCLA (13-2/4-0 Pac-12)

Results: won at WSU 67-66 and Washington 74-49Next up: vs. USC (Thursday)NET ranking: 6Comment: More than half of UCLA’s wins (eight) have come against Quadrant III and IV foes. That should change as Pac-12 games become a greater percentage of the Bruins’ overall tally.

3. Gonzaga (12-3/1-0 WCC)

Results: beat Pepperdine 111-88Next up: at San Francisco (Thursday)NET ranking: 15Comment: After watching Drew Timme average 27.3 points and shoot above 60 percent from the field in his past seven games, we’re starting to think he’s pretty good.

4. San Diego State (11-3/2-0 MW)

Results: won at UNLV 76-67Next up: at Wyoming (Saturday)NET ranking: 22Comment: SDSU’s seed in the NCAAs (assuming it qualifies) will depend partly on Ohio State’s performance in the Big Ten. The Aztecs beat OSU by 11 on a neutral court.

5. Saint Mary’s (13-4/2-0 WCC)

Results: beat San Diego 85-58 and Academy of Art 84-64, won at Santa Clara 67-64Next up: vs. Portland (Saturday)NET ranking: 12Comment: SMC’s best player is a freshman guard named Aidan Mahaney who could start for most teams in the Pac-12 but, according to 247 Sports, was only offered a scholarship by one of them (Stanford).

6. Utah (11-4/4-0 Pac-12)

Results: won at Cal 58-43 and Stanford 71-66Next up: vs. Oregon State (Thursday)NET ranking: 31Comment: Contender or pretender? An answer will be within reach Saturday evening, after the Utes host Oregon.

7. New Mexico (14-1/2-1 MW)

Results: won at Wyoming 76-75, lost at Fresno State 71-67Next up: vs. UNLV (Saturday)NET ranking: 34Comment: The Lobos were the last unbeaten team in Division I until their defense failed to make the trip to Fresno. It must have been flying Southwest.

8. Utah State (13-2/2-0 MW)

Results: beat Fresno State 67-64, won at Air Force 77-65Next up: at Boise State (Saturday)NET ranking: 20Comment: The Christmas Day victory over Washington State (in Hawaii) is gaining heft after the Cougars pushed UCLA to the brink and took down USC.

9. Arizona State (11-3/2-1)

Results: lost to Arizona 71-66Next up: vs. WSU (Thursday)NET ranking: 55Comment: The Sun Devils play superb defense. If their offensive efficiency improved just a tick — they are currently No. 123 in the Pomeroy ratings — the impact on their overall performance could be substantial.

10. Utah Valley (11-4/2-0 WAC)

Results: beat Sam Houston 80-64 and Utah Tech 71-60Next up: at UT Arlington (Thursday)NET ranking: 78Comment: For those unfamiliar, Utah Valley’s coach is Mark Madsen, the former Stanford star who spent six years on the Lakers’ staff. He could be coaching the Pac-12 eventually.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline

*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.

The following totals from the National Weather Service are through 5 p.m. Thursday. The bulk of the storm had then moved past the Bay Area, though additional rain was possible Thursday night. (Track the storm’s progress on this map.)

They are raw numbers, meaning they haven’t been quality-checked for accuracy.

The site of the greatest Bay Area total, Lake Ranch Reservoir, is at 1,810 feet elevation in Sanborn County Park, about a mile east of Skyline Boulevard.

The following are the totals from the National Weather Service for the period from 9 a.m. Friday through the end of Saturday’s storm. They are raw numbers, meaning they haven’t been quality-checked for accuracy.

The greatest rainfall reading, 9.69 inches at Uvas Canyon, is from a site at 1,100 feet elevation near the Casa Loma fire station, about 2 miles east of Loma Prieta.

Though in the previous December storms, greater totals had been reported in Big Sur, this time the Monterey County readings topped out at 8.27 inches at Mining Ridge.

Both the National Weather Service and U.S. Geological Survey have found that soil saturation is expected to set off a domino effect that leads to an elevated risk of shallow landslides, particularly on Saturday.

“You can’t just keep adding water to the soils when the soils are full,” said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist at the Bay Area’s National Weather Service station in Monterey. “That becomes runoff, putting more water in rivers, creeks and streams and in the watershed. We’re going to see higher rises than what we saw in the last system.”

The region got an early glimpse of the coming rains Thursday when residents woke up to wet and rainy conditions following a short respite Wednesday that saw dry and sunny weather for most of the region.

Still, even after a morning of gray skies and scattered showers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s rainfall survey showed much of the Bay Area got no more than a third of an inch of rain Thursday.

As of 4 p.m., 24-hour precipitation totals included .39 inches in San Francisco, .26 inches in Oakland, .22 inches in Concord and Gilroy, .16 inches in Fremont and .15 inches in Redwood City, according to the National Weather Service.

The stormy conditions are all but certain to carry into the start of 2023, with the weather service’s seven-day forecast showing rain in most of the area’s major population centers.

A flood watch was set to take effect Friday evening and extend through Saturday for the entire Bay Area. The intensity of the storm coming into the region, forecasters say, is fueled by a sub-tropical patch of moisture and warm air coming from Hawaii combined with cold air from the Pacific Northwest.

The predicted shallow landslides will push mud onto a variety of inopportune locations, including roads, farmland and, in some instances, homes, Garcia said. That’s not to mention that trees, now rooted in saturated soil, will be more vulnerable to toppling even in lighter winds far weaker than what usually would bring them down.

Generally, Garcia said, residents can anticipate standing water in low-lying areas and flood plains throughout the Bay Area, from Livermore to San Francisco.

“All those places will be soggy and boggy,” he said.

In San Jose, the incoming consecutive storms evoked memories of the infamous President’s Day weekend flooding of 2017 that saw Coyote Creek spill out of its banks and submerge several neighborhoods in the central part of the city. The city’s worst flood since 1997 caused an estimated $100 million in damage and the emergency evacuation of 14,000 people who lived near Coyote Creek, one of two major bodies of water — along with the Guadalupe River — that flow through San Jose. The neighborhoods of Rock Springs, Naglee Park and several mobile home parks between Old Oakland Road and Coyote Creek were the hardest hit.

That flood occurred after a series of large atmospheric river storms, much like what’s expected this weekend — but Garcia said he does not expect anything approaching that severity.

“If the 2017 storm was a 10 out of 10, we’re probably looking at a 4 out of 10,” he said.

Garcia said rivers will swell, smaller rivers could overflow and that “some storm drains will not be able to keep up and flood some roads” due to the weekend storms, but there are no major flooding threats on waterways such as the Guadalupe and Coyote Creek.

That risk has been alleviated in part because, in the wake of the 2017 flooding, the Santa Clara Valley Water District was ordered by federal regulators to rebuild Anderson Dam and ensure that it holds up in a major earthquake. While the project won’t be finished until 2030, the construction work required that the dam’s water level be significantly lowered.

Floodwalls, berms and new levees along Coyote Creek have also been in the works since the disaster.

But while a major flood event is unlikely, Garcia noted that unhoused populations already vulnerable to weather events face additional risks.

“The area has at least 9,000 unhoused individuals, and a lot of them live in riverbeds,” he said. “The potential need for swift water rescues on New Year’s Eve, that goes up.”

On Thursday, activist Shaunn Cartwright with the Unhoused Response Group was busy warning people in San Jose about the potential for rising water while also passing out tents, tarps and winter clothing to help people stay warm and dry.

She said she is “absolutely” worried about the toll the coming storm will take on encampments along the Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek.

“What if we don’t tell the right camp and they’re the one that gets flooded and somebody dies?” she asked. “You feel an immense amount of pressure.”

While the general advisory from authorities is to stay indoors and wait out the storms, Garcia said those who do have to venture out in the rain should heed simple directives.

“Take a big dose of patience with you through this system if you have to go out,” he said. “If you see a flooded road, it’s not worth it (to drive through).”

Staff writers Marisa Kendall and Jason Green contributed to this report.

The 55-year-old man is being held at Contra Costa jail in lieu of $46,000 bail, records show. He was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor, all connected to the Nov. 17 incident when he allegedly made the threats.

Police say that at around 3:45 p.m. Nov. 17, he called the dispatcher and accused a CHP motorcycle cop of kicking his mirror, then speeding off on Highway 24.

“If I could have killed him, I would have,” he allegedly told the dispatcher, later adding, “I wanna know who the dirty (expletive) pig cop was so I can go after him and his family.”

“I need (the sergeant’s) name and badge number too. I’m gonna (expletive) him up too,” he allegedly said.

A records check revealed the man had prior arrests for making threats and assault on a peace officer. He was formally charged in Contra Costa Superior Court on Dec. 7, according to court records.

Nine months later, at this no-longer-early stage of the 2022-23 season, the region is reasonably well positioned for year-over-year improvement.

Based on the latest NET rankings, which serve as a useful guide for identifying at-large candidates, the six conferences have 13 teams with resumes stout enough for consideration.

If we account for automatic qualifiers from each conference represented in the NET’s top 50, there are nine teams on the at-large spectrum.

Holding those positions won’t be easy — two or three bad losses can permanently wreck your ranking. But with the Pac-12 and Mountain West leading the way, the region looks a bit deeper than it did last year.

By the end of January, the framework should be in place.

Our hunch is the region’s at-large total lands on the high side of six.

To the latest Best of the West rankings …

*** Disclaimer: In some cases, the order below does not reflect placement in my Associated Press top-25 ballot, which tracks with guidelines provided by the AP.

Also considered: Boise State, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle and UC Santa Barbara

(NET rankings through Wednesday’s games)

1. Arizona (9-1/1-1 Pac-12)

Last week: 2Results: beat Indiana 89-75 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 99-61Next up: vs. Tennessee (Saturday)NET ranking: No. 11Comment: It took a mere 1,904 days, but the NCAA infractions case concluded Wednesday with minimal landmines on the road ahead for Tommy Lloyd and Co. Good thing the Wildcats excused themselves from the 2021 NCAAs.

2. UCLA (9-2/2-0 Pac-12)

Last week: 3Results: beat Denver 87-64 and Maryland 87-60Next up: vs. Kentucky (Saturday)NET ranking: No. 6Comment: If we had said, The Bruins will beat Maryland by 27 points despite getting just 27 points (combined) from Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Amari Bailey, you might have wondered: On what planet? And we’d respond: Planet Singleton.

3. Gonzaga (8-3)

Last week: 1Results: beat Washington 77-60 and Northern Illinois 88-67Next up: vs. Alabama (Saturday)NET ranking: No. 18Comment: The Crimson Tide, which just toppled No. 1 Houston, is the last heavyweight on Gonzaga’s schedule before WCC play ramps up. The Zags are 4-3 against power conference competition.

4. New Mexico (10-0)

Last week: 5Results: beat UTSA 94-76 and USF 67-64Next up: vs. Iona (Sunday)NET ranking: No. 24Comment: Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House (father: Eddie) are the best pair of teammates, who are also sons of former players, we have seen all season.

5. Arizona State (10-1/2-0 Pac-12)

Last week: 6Results: beat Creighton 73-71Next up: vs. San Diego (Sunday)NET ranking: No. 26Comment: The Sun Devils are 5-1 in games decided by five points or less. Possibly related: Their four leaders in minutes played are all shooting better than 70 percent from the foul line.

6. UNLV (10-0)

Last week: 7Results: beat WSU 74-70Next up: vs. San Francisco (Saturday)NET ranking: No. 36Comment: And the defense shall lead: The Rebels are No. 128 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (per Pomeroy ratings) but No. 37 defensively.

7. Utah (9-2/2-0 Pac-12)

Last week: 8Results: beat Jacksonville State 99-58 and UTSA 91-70Next up: at Brigham Young (Saturday)NET ranking: No. 21Comment: Branden Carlson in Utah’s two losses: three baskets (combined). Branden Carlson in Utah’s nine wins: 63 baskets. (We could do the division, but you get the picture.)

8. Saint Mary’s (9-3)

Last week: 9Results: beat San Diego State 68-61 and New Mexico State 81-68Next up: vs. Colorado State (Sunday)NET ranking: No. 15Comment: The Gaels and their core five don’t deploy a frenetic tempo. Even so, depth development will be critical to success down the stretch.

9. San Diego State (8-3)

Last week: 4Results: lost to Saint Mary’s 68-61, beat Kennesaw State 88-54Next up: vs. UC San Diego (Tuesday)NET ranking: No. 41Comment: The victory over Ohio State is starting to get a little lonely. The Aztecs could use another quality win before MW play heats up.

10. Utah State (8-0)

Last week: 10Results: beat LMU 79-67Next up: vs. Westminster (Thursday)NET ranking: No. 12Comment: Some NET rankings make perfect sense, even this early in the season. Utah State’s isn’t one of them, if we’re being honest.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline

*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.