A new report shows what temperatures in the United States could look like in 30 years — and the outlook isn’t good.
The report, from the First Street Foundation, a climate-focused research organization, found that temperatures will likely rise everywhere due to climate change, though the way that is expected to play out varies in different parts of the U.S.
We’ve been stuck with La Niña for a long time – and, according to the latest National Weather Service outlook, we’re not getting rid of her just yet. There’s an 80% probability La Niña conditions persist between September and November, which will have an impact on fall weather in California.
La Niña usually splits California into two halves: bringing wetter conditions to the northern part of the state and drier conditions to the south.
In the rainless season we call summer in California, images of shrinking bodies of water have a way of looming large.
After more than 22 years of drought compounded by warmer temperatures, Lake Mead and Lake Powell — water sources that are vital to life in the Southwest — have declined to their lowest levels since they were filled. The two reservoirs now sit at just 28 percent of capacity.
Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, is Monday. What’s in store for the upcoming season of beach days and barbecues in Southern California?
To start with, it will be dry. That’s not just because California’s Mediterranean climate means rain mostly falls during a few wet winter months, but because the state is in its third year of drought.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, has earmarked $5.2 billion in a revised budget proposal released Friday to fund a “strategic electricity reliability reserve” – an up to 5,000 MW resource that the state can tap into when the grid is particularly stressed.
California likely will have an energy shortfall equivalent to what it takes to power about 1.3 million homes when use is at its peak during the hot and dry summer months, state officials said Friday.
Threats from drought, extreme heat and wildfires, plus supply chain and regulatory issues hampering the solar industry will create challenges for energy reliability this summer, the officials said. They represented the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, and the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s energy grid.
California is progressing toward its goal of achieving 100% renewable and carbon-neutral electricity by 2045, and agriculture may be an integral part of the solution.
Farmers statewide have invested in renewable-energy technologies near vineyards, row-crop farms and atop walnut dryers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 8% of California farms have an on-site renewable-energy system.
Aaron Barcellos, who farms row crops and trees in Merced and Fresno counties, took advantage of federal tax incentives and invested in constructing two solar systems that total 1.4 megawatts to offset the farm’s energy usage.
The Department of Water Resources plans to soon drop State Water Project allocations to 0%, following a temporary 15% bump after December storms. DWR Director Karla Nemeth outlined for the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday this and other coming actions.
DWR will resubmit a temporary urgency change petition (TUCP) to the board on Friday, after withdrawing the proposal in February. If approved, the emergency regulation will preserve stored supplies for critical human health and safety needs.
The start of this year has been the driest in California’s history. With the severe drought now in a third year, the state faces depleted reservoirs, a meager snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and a worsening water shortage on the Colorado River.
Under sunny blue skies in Sacramento, where it hasn’t rained in two months, officials stood Thursday in front of a mulch-covered garden and appealed for Californians to save water.
The West is far from the only region experiencing remarkably dry weather so far this year. According to Thursday’s report from the US Drought Monitor, more than 61% of the contiguous US is in some classification of drought. It is the largest portion of the country in a state of drought since 2012, the year when the continental US saw an all-time record of 65% during September.
