Southern California is bracing for its biggest storm of the season, which is slated to deliver potentially damaging and life-threatening rain, wind and flooding to the region.
In winter 2021, more than 150,000 people living in Jackson, Miss., were left without running water. Faucets were dry or dribbling a muddy brown.
California was deluged by damaging atmospheric rivers last year and now the Golden State must brace for two more on the way this week. The photo below, taken Tuesday afternoon by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES-West satellite, shows a massive storm approaching from the west.
Northern California water managers are preparing for a stretch of wet weather by releasing water from several major reservoirs this week. At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the California Department of Water Resources began releasing water down the main spillway at Oroville Dam. Initial releases were at 6,000 cubic feet per second.
National Weather Service offices and other reputable meteorologists in California have been doing rumor control about the coming stormy period. Chatter on social media from unreliable sources had implied that the entire state will soon be underwater.
Despite forecasts of heavy rain and possible flooding in the coming days, state water managers are warning that the “snow drought” in California’s Sierra Nevada could remain for the rest of the winter and into the spring.
New Mexico is teaming up with Google to hunt for leaky water pipes using satellite imagery as the drought-stricken state prepares for a future in which growing demand puts more pressure on already dwindling drinking water supplies.
The water content of California’s mountain snowpack was just over half of the normal average on Tuesday, a modest increase from Jan. 1 but still far below the usual, state officials said.
Officials say they expect to release some water from the Oroville Dam’s main spillway on Wednesday. The operation comes as a strong atmospheric river sets its sights on Northern California.
A pair of atmospheric rivers is expected to hit the Western United States and Canada in the coming days.
