A rich stream of atmospheric moisture from near Hawaii dubbed the "Pineapple Express" delivered up to 8 inches of rain in some coastal areas and set a record for the density of water vapor measured in the air during the region's typical wet season, from October to April.

Mount Tamalpais got a total of 7.40 inches of rain during the storm -- including 5.86 inches on Friday. Venado, the site of a rain gauge just west of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County, recorded a storm total of 6.04 inches.

San Francisco got a total of 3.43 inches -- more than double the normal rainfall for the entire month of April (and more than city received during December and February combined -- two usually wet months that were bone dry this season). The 2.22 inches recorded Friday beat the previous April 6 record of 1.28 inches, set in 1871.

Meteorologist Neil Lareau of San Jose State University said the blast of heavy precipitation -- which came on the heels of a wetter-than-usual March -- helped push the seasonal precipitation closer to normal levels.

He said it's a surprising comeback to a season that just a few weeks ago resembled the worst of the region's recent drought years.

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