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

I have stated this before and I will say it again. This has not been your typical strong El Nino West Coast winter, at least through what looks like now much of January.

 

The Pacific Northwest has been consistently wet. Most of western Washington and Oregon are 30 to 60 percent above normal in precipitation since Oct. 1. Northern and north-central California are about normal while the Sierra snow is anywhere from normal to 25 percent above normal. Meanwhile, from San Luis Obispo on south precipitation totals are averaging 30 to 40 percent below normal. For Southern California, three of the five usually wettest months have already gone by.

Yes, it’s nice to see snow, and those Californians dreaming of a white Christmas saw that dream come true in the Sierra. But dreaming isn’t going to solve the state’s long-term water problems.

 

For that, we need shared strategy and cooperation.

The drought brought unprecedented change to the Sierra Nevada headwaters. Tree mortality rates are up to 50 percent in some mixed-conifer forest areas. A record number of acres have experienced high-intensity wildfires.

It seemed like a tall order: California drought regulators were demanding that urban residents slash water consumption by 25 percent, and even more in the Sacramento area.

 

Sacramento residents met the state’s mandate. The region reduced water use by 30 percent in calendar 2015, according to data released Thursday by the Sacramento Regional Water Authority.

Last year shattered 2014’s record to become the hottest year since reliable record-keeping began, two U.S. government science agencies announced Wednesday in yet another sign that the planet is heating up.

 

2015’s sharp spike in temperatures was aided by a strong El Niño weather pattern late in the year that caused ocean waters in the central Pacific to heat up. But the unusual warming started early and steadily gained strength in a year in which 10 of 12 months set records, scientists said.

Snowpack in the mountains that feed the Colorado River was slightly above the long-term average on Wednesday — welcome news in the drought-stricken Southwest. But water and weather experts said it’s too early to predict how deep the snow will get or how much of it will make its way into the river and on to Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona, one of two major reservoirs on the Colorado.