A new government study casts doubt on predictions of severe continental-scale droughts plaguing the planet because of global warming. It turns out, climate models predicting mega-droughts from increased warming may be wrong since “such drying seems inconsistent with observations of dryland greening and decreasing pan evaporation,” according to government scientists.
Colorado’s average snowpack across the state shot up to 201 percent of normal during May thanks to cold, wet weather, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service reported Tuesday. The statewide snowpack sat at about 95 percent of last year’s level as of June 1, the agency reported. The Colorado River Basin, which includes the Roaring Fork […]
Low-elevation snowpack across the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades will disappear in the coming decades if global warming continues unabated, according to a new study. The changes will cause water shortages in the region and dry out forests and grasslands, the study’s authors say. According to the research, the snow line—the altitude […]
/in California and the U.S./by Mike Lee /Associated Press (As published by The Washington Times - Washington, D.C.)by Scott Smith
Southern California’s largest water supplier was temporarily blocked from buying sprawling farmland that could be used to help build twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a court ruled Tuesday. The state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento granted a temporary restraining order the day before escrow was set to close on Metropolitan […]
A state panel on Tuesday dismissed a $1.55 million fine it levied last year against a Delta-area agency accused of ignoring an order to stop diverting water during the drought. State water regulators alleged last June that Byron-Bethany Irrigation District in the southern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta defied a state order issued to dozens of senior […]
Delta smelt have hovered close to extinction for years, but biologists say they’ve never seen anything like this spring. “There’s nothing between them and extinction, as far as I can tell,” said Peter Moyle, a U.C. Davis biologist who has studied smelt and other Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fish species for nearly four decades. Last week, the […]
Gov’t Study Finds Climate Models ‘Severely Overpredict’ Continent-Scale Droughts
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Daily Callerby Michael BastaschA new government study casts doubt on predictions of severe continental-scale droughts plaguing the planet because of global warming. It turns out, climate models predicting mega-droughts from increased warming may be wrong since “such drying seems inconsistent with observations of dryland greening and decreasing pan evaporation,” according to government scientists.
Colorado Snowpack 201% of Normal
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Aspen Times (Aspen, Colo.)Colorado’s average snowpack across the state shot up to 201 percent of normal during May thanks to cold, wet weather, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service reported Tuesday. The statewide snowpack sat at about 95 percent of last year’s level as of June 1, the agency reported. The Colorado River Basin, which includes the Roaring Fork […]
Unabated Global Warming Threatens West’s Snowpack, Water Supply
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Inside Climate News (New York)by Bob BerwynLow-elevation snowpack across the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades will disappear in the coming decades if global warming continues unabated, according to a new study. The changes will cause water shortages in the region and dry out forests and grasslands, the study’s authors say. According to the research, the snow line—the altitude […]
Court Suspends Southern California Water District’s Land Buy
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Associated Press (As published by The Washington Times - Washington, D.C.)by Scott SmithSouthern California’s largest water supplier was temporarily blocked from buying sprawling farmland that could be used to help build twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a court ruled Tuesday. The state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento granted a temporary restraining order the day before escrow was set to close on Metropolitan […]
State Water Board Dismisses $1.5 Million Fine
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan SabalowA state panel on Tuesday dismissed a $1.55 million fine it levied last year against a Delta-area agency accused of ignoring an order to stop diverting water during the drought. State water regulators alleged last June that Byron-Bethany Irrigation District in the southern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta defied a state order issued to dozens of senior […]
BLOG: Critical Index Finds Smelt Nearly Extinct in Delta
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Ryan SabalowDelta smelt have hovered close to extinction for years, but biologists say they’ve never seen anything like this spring. “There’s nothing between them and extinction, as far as I can tell,” said Peter Moyle, a U.C. Davis biologist who has studied smelt and other Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fish species for nearly four decades. Last week, the […]