A small bucket loader scraped Wahweap Bay’s expanding strip of red mud and gravel, its operator smoothing the shoreline where concrete workers were busy chasing a lake in retreat. To the left, where the bay had long offered kayakers and water skiers a loop around Lone Rock, the monumental slab now rose from dust flats instead […]
High in the Rocky Mountains, under thin air and bluebird skies, the Colorado River basin is slowly filling its savings account. Craggy peaks become smooth walls of white and piles of snow climb conifer trunks, covering even the deepest, darkest corners of the woods with a glimmering blanket. The snow that accumulates in the mountains […]
If the Los Angeles River had its own IMDb listing — and why shouldn’t it? It’s appeared in all kinds of movies — its career arc would look something like this: Leading man for tens of thousands of years, star and creator of the epic story of Los Angeles’ ecosystem and living things. Demoted to […]
After reviewing 153 years of rainfall records from Cal Poly’s Irrigation Training & Research Center, there has never been a back-to-back dry January followed by a parched February in San Luis Obispo County. Over the many decades of rain data, if you saw a primarily dry January, it would be followed by a wet February […]
The storms that frosted the Sierra Nevada with a healthy layer of snow in December soon gave way to dry weather, and the snowpack is showing it. Satellite images from NASA show a big difference even between January and February. Images from Jan. 9 showed a blanket of snow over the Sierra Nevada and their […]
Severe drought last year caused the California agriculture industry to shrink by an estimated 8,745 jobs and shoulder $1.2 billion in direct costs as water cutbacks forced growers to fallow farmland and pump more groundwater from wells, according to new research. In a report prepared for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, researchers calculated that reduced […]
Dry Boat Ramps, Exposed Rocks at Lake Powell Reveal the Cost of Colorado River Drought
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Arizona Republicby Brandon LoomisA small bucket loader scraped Wahweap Bay’s expanding strip of red mud and gravel, its operator smoothing the shoreline where concrete workers were busy chasing a lake in retreat. To the left, where the bay had long offered kayakers and water skiers a loop around Lone Rock, the monumental slab now rose from dust flats instead […]
The Colorado River Starts as Snow, and the Way We Understand It Is Changing
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /KUNCby Alex HagerHigh in the Rocky Mountains, under thin air and bluebird skies, the Colorado River basin is slowly filling its savings account. Craggy peaks become smooth walls of white and piles of snow climb conifer trunks, covering even the deepest, darkest corners of the woods with a glimmering blanket. The snow that accumulates in the mountains […]
Opinion: Why We Turned the L.A. River Into a Freeway (for Water)
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Patt MorrisonIf the Los Angeles River had its own IMDb listing — and why shouldn’t it? It’s appeared in all kinds of movies — its career arc would look something like this: Leading man for tens of thousands of years, star and creator of the epic story of Los Angeles’ ecosystem and living things. Demoted to […]
Slo County Had Driest January and February in More Than 150 Years — Is This the ‘New Normal’?
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Tribuneby John Lindsey Mentioned: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/weather/weather-watch/article258890608.htmlAfter reviewing 153 years of rainfall records from Cal Poly’s Irrigation Training & Research Center, there has never been a back-to-back dry January followed by a parched February in San Luis Obispo County. Over the many decades of rain data, if you saw a primarily dry January, it would be followed by a wet February […]
Satellite Images Show Just How Quickly Sierra’s Snowpack Is Retreating
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Gwendolyn WuThe storms that frosted the Sierra Nevada with a healthy layer of snow in December soon gave way to dry weather, and the snowpack is showing it. Satellite images from NASA show a big difference even between January and February. Images from Jan. 9 showed a blanket of snow over the Sierra Nevada and their […]
California Agriculture Takes $1.2-Billion Hit During Drought, Losing 8,700 Farm Jobs, Researchers Find
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Ian JamesSevere drought last year caused the California agriculture industry to shrink by an estimated 8,745 jobs and shoulder $1.2 billion in direct costs as water cutbacks forced growers to fallow farmland and pump more groundwater from wells, according to new research. In a report prepared for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, researchers calculated that reduced […]