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The floodgates at Oroville Dam in California were re-opened on Friday, March 17, for the first time since the end of February. The dam has been releasing water up to 50,000 cubic feet per second since, according to a press release. The flow in the Feather River also increased because of the release, and Lake Oroville’s level has dropped approximately four feet per day. The California Department of Water Resources expected to maintain the water flow for five to six days in order to bring down the lake level in order to provide sufficient storage for rain and snowmelt.

While federal funding is on its way to help Tuolumne County and others in California pay for damage related to storms in late January, more will be needed to cover the same for February. The assistance is the third request by Gov. Jerry Brown that the Trump administration has approved for more than $500 million in estimated damages throughout the state. That includes more than $6.8 million in Tuolumne County alone. “This will definitely help for sure,” said Deputy County Administrator Tracie Riggs, who serves as emergency services coordinator.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), one of the sharpest gubernatorial critics of President Trump, will travel to Washington this week for meetings on foreign policy and other matters. Brown will be in Washington starting tomorrow to attend the board meeting of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a group founded by Ted Turner and former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) that is focused on nuclear, biological, cyber and other risks. Brown joined the group in January. He’ll also meet with “government leaders and others,” his office said in a statement, but those meetings haven’t been scheduled yet.

Winter weather is coming back to the Bay Area — just in time for spring. Starting Monday, the day of the vernal equinox, a week-long system of cool storms will swing through Northern California, bringing several inches of rain to the Bay Area and more snowfall in the snow-stuffed Sierra, according to the National Weather Service. The pattern follows two weeks of mostly sunshine around the region in what now appears to be a limited break from one of the wettest rain seasons in years.

A bill to expand protections for California’s wild and scenic rivers is working its way through the state legislature. The measure approved by an Assembly committee Monday would bring state rules in line with more expansive federal laws. Supporters say California needs to step in now in case the federal government relaxes its rules under the new administration. Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen voted against the bill and based his position on the state’s water needs.