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California’s current La Niña period, characterized by highly unpredictable rainfall patterns, might mean the end of the statewide drought, according to UC Berkeley environmental experts. If the rainfall continues further into the new year, most, if not all, of the state will likely see the end of the drought, according to assistant professor of water and climate Ted Grantham. Grantham said there are two definitions of a drought — the traditional meteorological drought is characterized by significantly below average rainfall. Another definition, however, also considers water supply in reservoirs.

As Northern California skies begin to clear, California lawmakers are using the storm that pelted the region over the last week as a catalyst to talk about the state’s water management system. Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, is leading a troupe of lawmakers today on a tour of the Sites Reservoir, a $4.4 billion proposed water storage project four decades in the making.

 

As three raging storms pummeled Northern California in early January, the lakes rose, the floodgates opened, the rivers swelled, and the waterfalls roared. The landscape that became dry and parched during five years of drought turned into a wet, soggy mess. Trickles of water became surging flows, and floodplains transformed into massive seas of water. The gallery below of before-and-after images shows the dramatic impact the heavy rains have had on water levels at lakes, reservoirs, dams and rivers across the top half of the state.