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California Storms Add 350 Billion Gallons To Parched Reservoirs

The powerful storms that soaked Northern California over the past week did more than trigger power outages, mudslides and flash floods. They sent roughly 350 billion gallons of water pouring into California’s biggest reservoirs — boosting their storage to levels not seen in years, forcing dam operators to release water to reduce flood risks and all but ending the five-year drought across much of Northern California, even though it remains in the south, experts said Monday.

California Today: Severe Flooding, But Does That Mean Drought Relief?

The rain is back, and it seems to be coming all at once. A band of dense, airborne moisture from the tropics — known as an atmospheric river — swirled into Northern California on Saturday and was expected to linger through Monday. In just 48 hours, the system dropped up to four inches of rain across much of the region, with as much as nine inches in the foothills and mountains, where warmer air meant snow fell only at the highest elevations.

Tuesday Storm Raises Many Concerns For Dept. Of Water Resources

There are several concerns regarding weather conditions from Monday to Tuesday morning for the California Department of Water Resources. Jon Ericson with DWR said in the next several days, they expect the reservoirs to absorb that flow. “What we’ve seen is major streams and rivers peak over the last 24 hours, but what we’ll see in the next system is a second round of peaks as well,” said Ericson. “This is a colder system so we expect more snowfall at lower levels and less runoff to the reservoirs and to the rivers as well.”

The Worst Of The Storms Is Over. Here’s What’s Next For California

Northern California’s major rivers swelled and then began receding during a pause between rainstorms Monday, leaving a trail of toppled trees and damaged roadways but no major urban flooding in Sacramento or elsewhere. The weekend’s big rainfall, the most Sacramento has seen in a two-day stretch since 2000, put another dent in the drought and left precipitation totals for the season at twice the average for this time of year. With a second storm expected to hit late Monday or early Tuesday, emergency officials remained watchful.

California Wine Country Hit Hard As Storms Rock West Coast

Emergency crews in rescue boats and helicopters rushed to take advantage of a one-day break between storms Monday to rescue stranded people and assess damage after the heaviest rain in a decade overwhelmed parts of California and Nevada. Wine country in Sonoma County, California, was among the hardest hit areas, with up to 13 inches of rain since Friday. Rolling hills and vineyards along the scenic route known as River Road were submerged Monday with just the tips of vines visible in completely flooded fields.

WaterWorld Weekly Newscast, January 9, 2017

The San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego took steps last week to determine interest in a new pumped storage opportunity at the San Vicente Reservoir site that could potentially help the region meet its future energy needs. The project would consist of an interconnection and pumping system between the existing San Vicente Reservoir and a new, smaller reservoir located uphill.

Supervisors Will Discuss Intentional Non-ag Delta Flooding

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors will conduct a public hearing Tuesday to consider extending an interim urgency ordinance that would prohibit the flooding of agricultural land in the Delta in manners considered inconsistent with common practice. One year ago, supervisors adopted a 45-day emergency ordinance prohibiting flooding in the Delta. At the end of the 45 days, the board granted an initial extension to last 10 months and 15 days, according to Tuesday’s agenda.

OPINION: Too Soon To Call An End To California’s Drought

With the mother of all storms rolling across California over the weekend and more rain expected this week, can we declare the drought over? Not by a long shot. Granted, the landscape is looking greener, the reservoirs fuller and the Sierra snowpack deeper (it was at 103 percent of normal for this time of year Friday). But we are not even three weeks into winter. Deluge quickly can turn into a dry spell. Remember 2012, when we saw our last rain for a year in January? A few storms — even doozies like these — are not enough to make up for five years of drought (especially when there was only one wet year between this and the last).

 

California Braces For Flooding, Avalanches As Sierra Gets Slammed With Rain, Snow

A powerful storm blasted the Sierra Nevada with waves of torrential rain and heavy snowfall on Sunday, leaving a vast swath of California bracing for potentially disastrous floods, avalanches and mudslides. The latest weather comes just days after the mountains around Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park received several feet of snow over the span of a week. At Mammoth Mountain, a ski resort bordering Yosemite, the 11,000-foot peak got 84 inches of snow in just two days.

Southwest States Will Not Finalize Drought Plan Before Trump Administration Takes Over

Southwest states will not reach a new agreement to avert major cutbacks in Colorado River water before the Trump administration takes over. Even after months of negotiations, Arizona, California and Nevada will come up short of finalizing a deal on how to leave more water in the Lake Mead reservoir. State water officials in concert with the federal government had hoped to nail down the new so-called “drought contingency plan” by the end of the year.