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Photos Shows Lake Mead’s Water Levels as Senator Issues Dire Warning

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Anna Skinner

Senator Mark Kelly recently shared two photos of Lake Mead, Arizona, and the stark contrast between the two fueled concerns about the reservoir’s ability to recover from severe drought.

Torrential rain on the West Coast has filled some California reservoirs to the point of overflow, and nearby states such as Utah also saw their reservoirs benefit from the excess rain. However, Lake Mead water levels remain relatively unchanged and still at nearly their lowest in the reservoir’s history.

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California Extreme Weather is the New Normal

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Robyn White

California’s bout of extreme wet weather could become the new normal as climate change worsens, a researcher has warned.

A bomb cyclone battered the state on Tuesday, bringing down trees and power lines. At least one person was killed after a tree fell onto a vehicle, the Los Angeles Times reported. Early on Wednesday, more than 130,000 customers were still without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

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Powerful Pacific Tempest Clobbers Storm-Battered California

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Martha Mendoza

A strong late-season Pacific storm that brought damaging winds and more rain and snow to saturated California has been blamed for two deaths and forecasters said additional flooding was possible Wednesday in parts of the state.

Tuesday’s storm blasted the San Francisco Bay Area with powerful gusts and downpours, pounded Sacramento — the state capital — with intense hail and set rainfall records in Southern California.

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Is This San Diego’s Rainiest ‘Water Year’ on Record?

/in , , /by /Fox 5 San Diegoby Christy Simeral

This year has been off to a rainy start for much of California, and San Diego is no exception.

With all the wet weather the region has experienced as of late, San Diegans may be surprised to learn that when it comes to the number of (measurable) rain days, these last few months haven’t exactly shattered records.

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What is El Niño and How Does It Affect the Weather?

/in , , /by /AccuWeatherby Thomas Leffler

A major key to shaping weather patterns worldwide is found in the tropical Pacific Ocean, far from any mainland. Known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, this climate phenomenon is the pattern that can create significant differences in average ocean temperatures and often plays a pivotal role in how global weather patterns unfold.

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Solutions for Building Water Resilience in California

/in , , /by /Maven's Notebookby Heather Cooley

With the ever-changing climate and increasingly dry summers, California faces water challenges, despite this year’s bountiful snowpack. At the February meeting of the California Water Commission, Heather Cooley, Director of Research at the Pacific Institute, explained how increasing water efficiency, water reuse, and stormwater capture is essential to building and enhancing California’s water resilience.

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Here’s How Much Rain Fell in 30 San Diego County Communities in the Region’s Latest Storm

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

The Pacific storm that passed through San Diego County on Tuesday and early Wednesday was among the strongest, most widespread systems to hit the region since the rainy season began on Oct. 1.

The system pushed March rainfall at San Diego International Airport to 3.42 inches. The airport averages 1.46 inches for the entire month of March.

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California’s Drought is Not Over

/in , , /by /Capital & Mainby Mark Schapiro

More than a dozen atmospheric rivers in succession prompted people to think: The California drought is over! The levees are breaking, hundreds of people are being displaced by the raging waters, rainfall is breaking records, and story after story suggest we are headed out of the decade-long drought that has devastated agriculture and wiped out the state’s water reserves. Whew. Dodged a bullet.

One part of that story is true. By mid-March, two-thirds of the state was officially out of drought.

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Testing at the Source: California Readies a Groundbreaking Hunt to Check for Microplastics in Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundation (Western Water)by Nick Cahill Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Tiny pieces of plastic shed from food wrappers, grocery bags, clothing, cigarette butts, tires and paint are invading the environment and every facet of daily life. Researchers know the plastic particles have even made it into municipal water supplies, but very little data exists about the scope of microplastic contamination in drinking water. After years of planning, California this year is embarking on a first-of-its-kind data-gathering mission to illuminate how prevalent microplastics are in the state’s largest drinking water sources and help regulators determine whether they are a public health threat.

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Snowpack Rising: Good Water News for Now, but Lake Mead Unlikely to See a Difference

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

Snow is forecast every day this week in the heart of the Colorado Rockies, and snowpack levels have climbed to nearly 150% as warmer spring temperatures near.

It could be the winter we remember as one of the bright spots in a drought that defined the past two decades in the Colorado River Basin.

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