A recently released study on winter-run chinook salmon adds a new wrinkle to efforts to conserve the fish, which have had a larger influence on statewide water policy during California’s drought. As water supplies dwindled during the drought, state and federal officials found it increasingly difficult to protect the endangered salmon’s eggs and recent hatches, which need colder water to survive in the Sacramento River. Water agencies from Redding to Southern California saw their supplies reduced as federal and state officials tried to manage water temperatures in the river to benefit the salmon.

A double-barreled storm will soak California with rain and flash flooding while areas farther north are hit with more snow and ice into Friday. While the storm will bring beneficial moisture to the region, it will also cause travel disruptions to heavily-populated areas along the Pacific coast. Travel was halted along part of Highway 20 in Oregon on Wednesday afternoon after multiple avalanches made the mountain road impassable. No injuries were reported and crews quickly worked to clear the snow.

As she stood at the edge of the Embarcadero on Tuesday, the bay waters surging high but rarely spilling toward her feet, Lori Lambertson stated the obvious.