You are now in California and the U.S. category.

Snow Tops Peaks on West Side of Central San Joaquin Valley, Affects National Park Access

/in /by /The Fresno Beeby By Rory Appleton and Lewis Griswold

The prodigious storm that brought nearly an inch of rain to Fresno on Sunday left another gift overnight – snow along ridges on the west side of the central San Joaquin Valley.

 

The snow level dropped to below 2,000 feet overnight as the cold storm moved through the area, said Modesto Vasquez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Hanford.

Vasquez said snow would be topping the highest peaks of the Diablo Range on the Valley’s west side, including Santa Rita Ridge, which stands at 5,000 feet near Coalinga.

Full Story

Buoyed by Recent Rains, Folsom Lake Levels Triple

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby By Phillip Reese, Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler

 What a difference a month of rain makes.

Two months ago, Folsom Lake stood at its lowest depth in history, and federal officials were engineering a special pumping system to ensure drinking water would keep flowing to Sacramento suburbs.

 

Following a month of persistent rain and snow in Northern California, lake levels are triple what they were in early December, and the reservoir contains more water than average for early February.

Full Story

How Much Rain Has SoCal Received This Year? Here’s One Way to Keep Track

/in /by /89.3 KPCC (Pasadena)by By Aaron Mendelson

Southern California got drenched Sunday, with some areas getting up to three inches of rain. It’s an El Niño year. So does that mean Southern California’s rainfall is ahead of normal this year?

Not yet.

As of Monday morning, the region has received 41.1 percent of a normal winter’s precipitation. That’s behind even the median, or typical year, which by February is at 56.3 percent.

 

And if you look at just recent years with strong El Niños, median precipitation is even further ahead by this point: 78.8 percent.

Full Story

Reservoirs Slowly Filling, Sierra Snowpack above Normal

/in /by /Capital Public Radioby By Ed Joyce

The second Sierra snowpack measurement of the winter is Tuesday. January has brought much needed snow, but February may start a bit more slowly.

 

It was the best month for snowpack in January since 2011.

 

And the statewide snowpack is above normal.

“We’ve not had a snowpack for the last four years, anything worth writing home about, so this is obviously very significant for this time of year,” says Meteorologist Michelle Mead, with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Full Story

Obama Administration Aims To Reduce US Water Footprint

/in /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by By Ian James

The Obama administration has begun an initiative aimed at making the United States more water-efficient, saying the country has the potential to reduce its total water use by a third.

Deputy Interior Secretary Mike Connor said some of the White House’s objectives include encouraging more recycling of wastewater and promoting investment in water treatment and desalination technologies.

Full Story

County Cleans Up After Damaging Storm

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby By Gary Robbins and Lyndsay Winkley

Workers across the county were hustling Monday to clear streets of the broken trees that were blown into traffic Sunday by a powerful wind and rain storm that also caused major power outages.

Winds gusted as high as 65 mph along the coast and hit with particular force in La Jolla, clogging parts of North Torrey Pines Road with the twisted remains of trees. Motorists also are being slowed in such communities as La Mesa, Oceanside and the Rancho Bernardo area.

Full Story