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The news, as it often does, has been bouncing back and forth from extreme to extreme — historic drought, historic snowfall, historic fires, fatal floods and mudslides. That’s the nature of California’s climate. A common saying among water officials is that there’s no average year in California. Of course, when they add up rainfall and snowfall records, there is an average. But that average obscures savage fluctuations between bone-dry years and years of floods and landslides.

A cold low-pressure system is forecast to swing across Southern California Friday night, bringing a change of rain to San Diego and snow to local mountains, according to the National Weather Service. A winter weather advisory is in effect from 5 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday for San Diego County mountains, according to the NWS. The system will bring light rain, gusty winds and cold temperatures. The snow level is expected to fall rapidly through Friday evening, with areas of westerly winds 25 to 35 mph and gusts to around 55 mph.

Growing up near Niagra Falls where water is plentiful hasn’t stopped Ramona resident Beth Prinz from becoming a conscientious water conservationist. Prinz first encountered caps on water use as a resident of Forest Falls, Calif., a small town of about 1,000 residents where she lived before moving to Ramona 20 years ago. During droughts, the local water district would turn off the taps for extended periods of the day, yet water would still flow to nearby Redlands residents, she said.

For nearly four years before federal and state environmental watchdogs descended on Camp Pendleton during a late June inspection, contractors had warned military leaders about apparently persistent problems with the base’s water system, according to newly released documents. Obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act, the records were generated between 2014 and mid-2017 by contractors hired to clean and inspect Camp Pendleton’s 34 water reservoirs. They buttress an Environmental Protection Agency summer survey of a much smaller portion of the sprawling base’s water system.

Water is a top priority in California, and Cuyamaca College is hoping to help young women tap into a career in the field, offering tips and information at a daylong symposium on Thursday. “Women in Water: Exploring Career Pathways” is expected to draw nearly 100 high school students and an equal number of water industry officials from throughout California as Cuyamaca aims to bolster the numbers of women in the water industry.