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California Today: What The Snow In The Sierra Nevada Tells Us

On Tuesday, state water officials trudged into the Sierra Nevada for the first snowpack survey of 2017. Snowpack levels are crucial indicators of whether California will have enough water after the winter, as the melting snow flows into the state’s reservoirs. The reading at Phillips Station, near Lake Tahoe, however, is a largely ceremonial exercise, attracting attention in part for its visual interest. (See photos below.) After dipping poles into the snow, surveyors said the snowpack there was at roughly half the historical average.

Incoming Storms, Sierra Snow Expected To Help California Battle Drought

The several feet of snow expected in the Sierra this week is expected to considerably change the look of California’s drought map. At this time last year, 45 percent of the state was in an exceptional drought, which is the worst possible rating. Officials said only 18 percent of California currently remains dry. “Our biggest reservoir is all the snow that falls during the winter because when it melts it can fill all the big reservoirs throughout the state,” said Marty Grimes, spokesperson for the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

 

 

California Pummeled By Multiple Atmospheric Rivers Bringing Flooding Rain, Feet Of Sierra Snow Into Next Week

The multi-day siege of flooding rain and Sierra snow has begun in California, which may eventually prove to be too much of a good thing for residents still thirsting for relief from a five-year drought. Several landslides were reported in parts of northern California Tuesday night and early Wednesday, particularly in Santa Cruz County. Up to 2 feet of water was reported near downtown Yountville, and two right lanes of the 101 freeway in downtown San Francisco were flooded by a couple feet of water.

With Snow Piling Up In The Sierra, What Will It Take To End California’s Drought?

The resort town of Phillips high in the Sierra Nevada has long been a barometer of California’s drought. Snow measuring station 3 in the El Dorado County town was where Gov. Jerry Brown came in April 2015 to announce major drought restrictions, using the dry, snow-less landscape as a stark backdrop. On Tuesday, Frank Gehrke of the California Department of Water Resources performed the manual measurement at the same spot, this time covered in three feet of snow. It measured just 53% of the seasonal average, but officials took that as further proof California’s six-year drought was easing.

Yosemite Faces Possible Closure Amid Rain, Possible Flooding

Yosemite National Park expects so much rain, snow and possible flooding over the next several days and into the weekend park officials say they may close the whole park. Citing visitor and employee safety amid predictions for significant rainfall in Yosemite Valley that put the Merced river well above flood stage, park officials say that people planning trips to the park, beginning tomorrow, Thursday January 5, 2017, should make alternate plans as the park may close. A Yosemite area forecast is in our weather section here.

 

State Mulls Converting Sewage To Drinking Water

With the Bay Area experiencing a relatively wet and lush winter, it’s easy to forget that nearly half of California is still suffering from extreme and exceptional drought levels. That’s why the State Water Resources Control Board is moving forward on a revolutionary new plan to develop and adopt measures to convert recycled water into drinking water. People, realize that “recycled water” is just a more pleasant-sounding euphemism for wastewater, or sewage.

Side Effect Of California’s Drought: More Climate Pollution

Droughts are already getting longer and more severe because of human-caused climate change in the American Southwest and around the world. But the drought-climate connection goes both ways: California’s prolonged dry spell has also made climate change a little bit worse.

 

Super Soaker This Weekend

Got outdoor plans this weekend? Might want to cancel them. Stockton could see its wettest day in more than two years on Sunday, and Saturday won’t be much better, as another atmospheric river drenches California from the Pacific Ocean.Somewhere north of 2 inches of rain is expected over the weekend, and that doesn’t even include the earlier storm that moved in Tuesday night and early this morning, bringing wind gusts expected to top 45 mph.

Incoming Storms, Sierra Snow Expected to Help California Battle Drought

The several feet of snow expected in the Sierra this week is expected to considerably change the look of California’s drought map. At this time last year, 45 percent of the state was in an exceptional drought, which is the worst possible rating. Officials said only 18 percent of California currently remains dry.

 

This Map Explains The Weather We Had In 2016

Weather over the past year was extreme. It ranged from a historic blizzard to record-breaking heat. At times, it was deadly. This map explains nearly all of it: rain and drought — the yin and yang of U.S. weather in 2016. Even with a very strong El Niño, the vast majority of the West ended the year with below-average precipitation. In the Deep South, flash flooding threatened lives and property over and over. In the Southeast, an epic drought fueled deadly wildfires.