Tag Archive for: Drought

Once Again, Lake Oroville and Other Reservoirs are at Drought Emergency Levels

/in , /by /SFistby Jay Barmann

If you were around here in 2014 or 2015, you were likely inundated with images of dried up reservoirs that looked like dirt canyons with little ponds in them, when a punishing drought forced the state to institute restrictions on water usage. Well, we’re likely headed for another summer of dried-up lawns (and wildfires) if Mother Nature continues to withhold the rain and snow that we need to make up for a super-dry November, December, and February.

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8 States are Tweaking the Weather (and it Might Not Work)

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Chelsea Harvey

The mountaintops rumble to life unnaturally each year as snow clouds darken the sky across the West.

Open flames burst from the throats of metal chimneys, mounted on squat towers nestled among the peaks. With a low hiss, puffs of particles belch from their mouths into the air, where the wind catches them and whisks them away.

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Opinion: As Drought Alarms Sound, is California Prepared?

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Jeffrey Mount and Caitrin Chappelle

We’re facing another very dry year, which follows one of the driest on record for Northern California and one of the hottest on record statewide.

The 2012-16 drought caused unprecedented stress to California’s ecosystems and pushed many native species to the brink of extinction, disrupting water management throughout the state.  Are we ready to manage our freshwater ecosystems through another drought?

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All that Snow Should Help With Colorado’s Drought, but it’s Still Not Enough for Some Parts of the State

/in , , /by /CPR Newsby Sam Brasch

As Colorado digs out from the recent blizzard, each heavy shovel full of snow proves the storm brought plenty of moisture. But is it enough to free the state from its drought conditions?

Russ Schumacher, the Colorado state climatologist, said the answer largely depends on location. The brunt of the storm hit east of the Continental Divide, dumping around two feet of snow in the Foothills and Eastern Plains. Meanwhile, preliminary snowfall reports show only a few inches accumulated on the Western Slope.

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California’s New Drought

/in , , /by /California WaterBlog (UC Davis Water Sciences)by Jay Lund, Andrew L. Rypel, and Josue Medellin-Azuara

As March begins to drag on with little precipitation in the forecast and few weeks left in California’s traditional wet season, we are in another dry year. This is California’s second dry year in a row since the 2012-2016 drought.  Statistically, California has the most drought and flood years per average year than anywhere in the US.  This statistical fact seems to becoming increasingly extreme, as predicted by many climate change models.

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Klamath Basin Faces Drought, Again

/in , , /by /Jefferson Public Radioby April Ehrlich

Forecasts based on U.S. Geological Survey data predict that the Klamath Basin will only fulfill about a third of what’s needed for agriculture. The Upper Klamath Lake is more than a foot lower than it was this time last year, which was also a drought year.

The Klamath County commissioners voted Tuesday to issue a county-level drought declaration. The board voted to request that Gov. Kate Brown’s office issue a state-level drought declaration, which would open up financial resources for water users.

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Storm Leaves 2 Inches of Rain in Some Parts of County, While 18 Inches of Snow Measured in Julian

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

A late-winter storm doused the San Diego area with rain and mountain snow for second day Thursday, but a dry spell lies ahead.

Though the showers generated by the unsettled atmospheric system out of the Gulf of Alaska were more scattered and short-lived than Wednesday’s storms, they added to some significant moisture amounts across the county, according to the National Weather Service.

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Western States Chart Diverging Paths as Water Shortages Loom

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Sophia Eppolito and Felicia Fonseca

As persistent drought and climate change threaten the Colorado River, several states that rely on the water acknowledge they likely won’t get what they were promised a century ago.

But not Utah.

Republican lawmakers approved an entity that could push for more of Utah’s share of water as seven Western states prepare to negotiate how to sustain a river serving 40 million people. Critics say the legislation, which the governor still must sign, could strengthen Utah’s effort to complete a billion-dollar pipeline from a dwindling reservoir that’s a key indicator of the river’s health.

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Historic Drought Deepens in the West as Window for Rain, Snow Closes

/in , /by /The Washington Postby Becky Bolinger

The year 2020 is going to be remembered for a lot of things, many of them not so good. Included in the not-so-good list is the drought that has plagued the West, lasting into 2021. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which has published weekly maps since 2000, the 2020 drought is the worst, in terms of its geographical scope, in more than 20 years.

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Opinion: Drought Threat Should Trigger Water Conservation Now

/in , /by /The Mercury News

California shouldn’t wait another day to implement water conservation measures to counteract the likelihood of drought this year. The state Department of Water Resources reported Tuesday that the Sierra Nevada snowpack was just 61% of it historical average for this date. “Absent a series of strong storms in March or April, we are going to end with a critically dry year on the heels of last year’s dry conditions,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the state DWR.

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