The first of two atmospheric rivers, a long stretch of moisture that builds up from the tropics, brought rain to Southern California, snow to the Sierra Nevada region and the threat of flooding in Yosemite National Park and other parts of the state.The express train of wet and snowy conditions slammed the state Thursday morning, and another system is expected this weekend and possibly into next week.
In the simplest terms, California’s drought has a lot to do with the weather, which is why, despite a not-too-stellar initial snowpack reading, there is still a lot of optimism about this year’s wet season. But as seasoned water veterans know, there’s a lot more to the story that just the weather. When Water Deeply started in the summer of 2015, California was in dire straits, having just had its worst snowpack year in recorded history. Warm waters were decimating salmon runs, farm fields were being fallowed and wells were going dry.
The drought no longer exists, at least in parts of California. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, which releases the Drought Monitor each week, just over 18 percent of the state is no longer in drought. The drought-free area is in Northern California and includes Crescent City, Eureka and Redding. Central and Southern California remain in extreme or exceptional drought, while other areas in the interior portion of the state are in the process of recovery.
California was bracing for an epic series of storms this weekend that could bring flooding, avalanches, blizzards and road closures. Northern California is expected to be hit Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Up to 12 inches of rain below 8,500 feet is expected, and massive amounts of snow — up to 6 feet — above that elevation. A fourth, colder storm two days behind will drop yet more heavy snow. “It’s a once-in-10-year event,” said Zach Tolby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno.
The San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego on Wednesday took a step toward the possibility of helping the region meet its future energy needs through a new pumped storage opportunity at the San Vicente Reservoir site. The potential project would create a new, up to 500-megawatt source of renewable energy that could provide electric grid stability to the region during peak times for energy use or other days when demand for electricity is high and renewable energy supplies are scarce.
The light rain and gusty winds that developed overnight in San Diego County will continue Thursday as a trough of low pressure sweeps through the region. As of early this morning, automated gauges collected .04 of an inch of rain at a site on the La Jolla Reservation; .02 on Mount Laguna; and .01 at Lake Cuyamaca and the Henshaw Dam, and in Descanso, De Luz, Julian and San Onofre, according to provisional data from the National Weather Service. No precipitation was reported in the deserts.
Plans for a new dam on the San Joaquin River above Millerton Lake are on a collision course with a new proposal from the Bureau of Land Management to designate a portion of the area as a “Wild and Scenic River.” Conservationists say it would save some rare land values while improving public access, but supporters of the dam say the designation would essentially kill the project. What does the incoming Trump administration mean for the reservoir? FM89’s Ezra David Romero reports.
As the The Valley is slammed with rain and storms, the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is coming in under average for snow fall totals, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of drinking water for all Californian. The under average conditions brings up the question, does California need more water infrastructure?
With Northern California having just come through a series of storms bringing snow and rain, forecasters are predicting more heavy weather ahead for the weekend. The National Weather Service said an “atmospheric river” will bring more rain and high-elevation snow beginning on Saturday, which rainfall and snowfall expected to be heaviest across the region on Sunday and Monday. Atmospheric rivers are narrow regions on the atmosphere that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
