After a relatively dry February, the spigot has turned back on over the North State, thanks to a series of late-winter storms in March that have brought water levels up at Lake Shasta to almost 40 feet from its crest.
The lake — the state’s largest reservoir — has risen 8 feet over the past week and more than 100 feet since Dec. 1, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation numbers show.
No one really knows how much snow fell on the infamous Donner Party when the pioneers were trapped atop the Sierra Nevada for months and dozens died near Lake Tahoe in the winter of 1846-47.
But this season has now etched its way into the history books as the second snowiest in the 77 years of record-keeping at the Central Sierra Snow Lab — more than 56.4 feet (677 inches, 17.2 meters) with no end in sight.
The California Department of Water Resources announced Monday that it slowed outflows from Lake Oroville from 35,000 cubic feet per second to 27,500 cfs.
According to a press release issued Monday by DWR, the reduction began at 6 p.m. Monday.
The Supreme Court on Monday appeared closely divided on whether to side with the Navajo Nation in the tribe’s high-stakes fight against the Biden administration and four states to protect its right to water from the drought-stricken Colorado River.
While the court could decide the case on narrow procedural grounds, some of the more moderate conservative justices questioned whether a ruling for the Navajo would obligate the federal government to build a vast network of pipelines and pumps to deliver water to the tribe or upset the delicate balance struck by the 40 million people who rely on the massive waterway that travels among seven states and Mexico.
After weeks of atmospheric rivers slamming into Northern California, triggering flooding and landslides, the jet stream has shifted the latest blast of subtropical moisture toward Southern California, forecasters said.
But it won’t be a complete miss on Tuesday. The northern edge of the river will bring moderate rain to parts of the Bay Area and 2 inches or more to the waterlogged Santa Cruz Mountains and the flooded communities in Monterey County.
La Niña is finally over after three years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This winter has not acted like a typical La Niña winter with California getting drenched, especially in Southern California where La Niña typically signals a drier than average winter.
NOAA’s U.S. Spring Outlook indicates the abnormally wet winter will further improve drought across much of the western U.S. as the snowpack melts in the coming months. Winter precipitation, combined with recent storms, wiped out exceptional and extreme drought in California for the first time since 2020, and is expected to further improve drought conditions this spring.
Significant flooding in the western U.S., especially in California, followed another series of strong Pacific storms that battered the region in March, and piled on to an already historic snowpack.
A changing climate in California could very well mean longer periods of drought, then wetter and more intense storms when the rains finally arrive.
It’s not an ideal scenario when trying to manage precious water in the Golden State.
Learning how to manage California’s water for the greatest benefit — even as these new challenges come to the agriculture-intense San Joaquin Valley — is one of the reasons Tom Corringham led a team of researchers to Bakersfield College on Thursday and Friday.
Swaths of California still saturated by ruthless storms will get walloped by another atmospheric river, spawning fears of renewed flooding and forcing some residents to flee.
The state has already been hammered by at least 11 atmospheric rivers this season. An atmospheric river is like a fire hose that carries saturated air from the tropics to higher latitudes, dumping relentless rain or snow.
Parts of California are under water, the Rocky Mountains are bracing for more snow, flood warnings are in place in Nevada, and water is being released from some Arizona reservoirs to make room for an expected bountiful spring runoff.
All the moisture has helped alleviate dry conditions in many parts of the western U.S. Even major reservoirs on the Colorado River are trending in the right direction.
