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Opinion: The Healthy Snowpack is an Upside of Recent Storms. But the Drought is Far From Over

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board

The powerful storms that have pounded California for the past two weeks have disrupted life statewide, leaving at least 19 dead, causing widespread flooding and closing or destroying iconic piers from Ocean Beach to Capitola. The precipitation has also done some good. Wednesday, the Sierra Nevada snowpack — which provides about 30 percent of the state’s water supply — was 226 percent of normal, the highest in at least 20 years. With two more storms looming, the snowpack is expected to keep growing ahead of an important April 1 measurement date for forecasters when it tends to peak.

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California Suddenly Has So Much Snow. But Even This Extraordinary Bounty Isn’t Enough

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

At the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory in Donner Pass on Wednesday, snow was piled so high that lead scientist Andrew Schwartz no longer needed stairs to exit the second floor.

“We just walk directly out onto the snow!” Schwartz said. The nearly 11 feet of snow surrounding the lab was the deepest he’d seen so far this year.

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Another Onslaught of Atmospheric River Storms to Pummel California Through the Weekend

/in , , /by /FOX Weatherby Steven Yablonski and Brian Donegan

Another barrage of atmospheric rivers will slam into California starting Friday, with a series of storms continuing to hit the West Coast through the weekend and into early next week.

The Golden State caught a break Thursday from the onslaught of deadly atmospheric river storms that have greatly helped the ongoing drought situation but have battered California with heavy rain, high winds, flooding and mudslides.

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Heavy Rain is Still Hitting California. A Few Reservoirs Figured Out How to Capture More for Drought

/in , , /by /NPRby Lauren Sommer

Despite several weeks of torrential rain and flooding, California is still facing a severe multi-year drought. That has many people thinking about how to better capture winter floodwaters to last through the dry season.

An innovative approach at two California reservoirs could help boost the state’s water supply, potentially marking a larger shift from decades-old water management approaches to a system that can quickly adapt to precipitation in a changing climate.

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Is California’s Drought Over? Here’s What You Need to Know About Rain, Snow, Reservoirs and Drought

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Alastair Bland

The year 2023 began with a historic bang — record precipitation and disastrous flooding throughout much of California. Parched watersheds soaked up the first rains, but soon became waterlogged. Runoff accelerated. Sodden hillsides collapsed. Rural levees burst and rivers spilled their banks. Towns went underwater. People died.

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Suddenly, California Has Too Much Water

/in , , /by /The Atlanticby Jacob Stern

In the Talmudic parable of Honi the Circle Maker, the drought-stricken people of Jerusalem send up a prayer that God should deliver them rain. And sure enough, after a few false starts, he does. Except that once the rain starts, it won’t let up. It pours and pours until the people are forced to flee to higher ground, their homes flooded by the answer to their prayer.

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Storm-Struck California Scrambles to Clean Up Ahead of Rain

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Brian Melley and Christopher Weber

Storm-ravaged California scrambled to clean up and repair widespread damage on Wednesday as the lashing rain eased in many areas, although the north could see thunderstorms and another powerful weather front was expected to hit the state Friday.

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No Rest for the Weary: More Flooding Rain to Eye California

/in , , /by /AccuWeatherby Courtney Travis

AccuWeather meteorologists say that more rain is in the forecast for California, as additional storms from the Pacific are expected to reach the western United States in the coming days.

Multiple large and powerful storms have hit California since New Year’s Eve, making for a disastrous start to 2023 for the state. The most recent California storm killed at least three people and dumped nearly 10 inches of rain on southern parts of the state and around 2 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada.

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Rain Forecast From Atmospheric Rivers Poses Challenge, But Advancements Are Being Made

/in /by /KPBS-FM/TVby John Carroll and Roland Lizarondo

The forecast said high winds and up to an inch of rain in San Diego Tuesday. The winds showed, but the rain? That was a different story.

How much water you got from this latest atmospheric-river charged storm depended on where you live.

For an example, as of noon Tuesday, San Onofre had received a little over an inch of rain, but San Diego International Airport received just three-tenths of an inch.

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Despite Storms, State Reservoirs Aren’t Likely to Return to Normal Levels This Year

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Susan Carpenter

Even with a sixth atmospheric river in two weeks dumping rain on California, water regulators said reservoirs are not likely to completely refill this year. As of Sunday, the state’s 17 reservoirs were at 78% of average, the Department of Water Resources announced Monday.

“We’re still below average,” said Jon Yarbrough, assistant deputy director for the State Water Project, the California agency that collects water from Northern California rivers and redistributes it to major cities. “We still have a lot of room in our reservoirs to take in the in-flows that we’re seeing on the horizon here.”

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