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California Braces for Flooding, Snowmelt From a Warm Atmospheric River Set to Slam State

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Another atmospheric river system has set its sights on California, raising considerable concern about flooding and structural damage as warm rain is expected to fall atop the state’s near-record snowpack this week, forecasters say.

“It now appears increasingly likely that a potentially significant and very likely warm atmospheric river event will probably affect some portion of Northern or Central California sometime between about late Thursday and Saturday,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during a briefing Monday.

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Snowpack Update: Water Stored for Colorado River at 134% of Normal With a Month to Go

/in , , /by /8 News Nowby Greg Haas

Snow scientists identify April 6 as the typical date to best evaluate the snowpack levels for the runoff to the Colorado River each year.

This year, with a month to go, things are looking good. And it’s about a lot more than just how deep the snow is right now.

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Despite Storms, Water Challenges Persist

/in , , /by /Ag Alertby Christine Souza

New snow blankets the landscape of Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir. Last week, California water officials announced that the statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack was recorded at 190% of seasonal average on March 3. Meanwhile, at a water conference, state officials warned they expect warming conditions to persist and called for partnering on water supply solutions.

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Feds Suspend Measures That Were Meant to Boost Water Levels at Drought-Stricken Lake Powell

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Starting Tuesday, the US Bureau of Reclamation will suspend extra water releases from Utah’s Flaming Gorge reservoir — emergency measures that had served to help stabilize the plummeting water levels downstream at Lake Powell, the nation’s second largest reservoir.

Federal officials began releasing extra water from Flaming Gorge in 2021 to boost Lake Powell’s level and buy its surrounding communities more time to plan for the likelihood the reservoir will eventually drop too low for the Glen Canyon Dam to generate hydropower.

Phoenix Residents Are Rejecting Traditional Lawns to Save Water, and the Results Are More Attractive and Cheaper Than Grass

/in , /by /Business Insiderby Adrianna Nine

Few homes in Phoenix and its surrounding communities have the thick grass and carefully manicured shrubs and trees of lawns found in other parts of the US.

Desert residents are uniquely poised to recognize the environmental harms associated with conventional lawns and lean into more climate-friendly landscaping. Within the past decade, Phoenicians have become a catalyst for the growing anti-lawn movement.

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Two Storms Could Bring More Rain to San Diego County, With the First Arriving Friday Night

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

A 1,000-mile-wide atmospheric river that’s forming in the subtropics will brush San Diego County with light rain Friday and Saturday and bring heavy precipitation to the rest of Southern and Central California, further aiding reservoirs and muting the risk of wildfires, the National Weather Service said on Monday.

The storm is part of a major pattern change that also is expected to produce a second warm, moist atmospheric river that will flow through roughly the same areas on March 14, possibly bringing heavier rain to San Diego, which is experiencing its first wet year in three years.

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Odds of El Niño Returning to California Are Increasing. Would It Bring Even More Rain?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

The stubborn La Niña climate pattern that gripped the tropical Pacific for a rare three years in a row is waning, and the odds of an El Niño system forming later this year are getting stronger, according to recent meteorological reports.

The El Niño-La Niña Southern Oscillation, sometimes referred to as ENSO, has a major influence on temperature and rainfall patterns in different parts of the world, with La Niña often associated with drier-than-normal conditions in California, especially the southern part of the state.

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Atmospheric River Storm This Week Will Bring Heavy Rain, Raise Flood Concerns With Huge Sierra Nevada Snowpack

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

The winter of 2023 isn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot.

An atmospheric river storm is likely to hit Northern California late Thursday into Friday, meteorologists and climate scientists said Monday, bringing high chances of heavy rain in the Bay Area, 1 to 3 feet of new snow at higher elevations in the Sierra, and an increased risk of flooding as the warm rain hits the state’s massive snowpack.

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Water Districts Aim to Go Greener by Cutting Out Ornamental Grass

/in , , /by /SFGATEby Olivia Wynkoop

Though recent snow and rainfall have certainly improved drought conditions, California water officials still want to make every drop of water count.

That means cutting out the watering of decorative grass — also known as non-functional turf — frequently landscaped at traffic medians or office parking lots.

Decorative grass is becoming a bigger problem for Western water agencies to address as policymakers look to cut back its water usage in statewide bans, proposed legislation and local ordinances.

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State, Federal Officials Laud Pure Water Monterey Expansion

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Dennis L. Taylor

Standing on a concrete pad that will support a major new water supply for the Monterey Peninsula, state and federal officials on Monday struck celebratory tones in describing government partnerships that will help usher in an expansion of the Pure Water Monterey project.

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