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In the November Garden, Carry On Cool-Weather Planting, But Cut Back on Water

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Nan Sterman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

While fall rains have already begun, climatologists predict a dry winter, courtesy of the long-anticipated La Niña conditions. Reservoirs are at dangerously low levels. There’s little chance of their being replenished this winter, according to predictions used by federal forestry and fire agencies.

Our governor has asked all Californians to voluntarily cut water use by 15 percent. San Diego County Water Authority asked residents to reduce water use by 10 percent. No matter where in California we garden, it’s time we look hard for ways to use less water.

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After Some Wet Weather Last Month, Rain is Back to Bypassing Southern California

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

After a brief interruption for some rain late last month, the Los Angeles region is back to its regularly scheduled programing. In November, that means little or no rain.

For those hoping for more rain, the prospects aren’t good, as the National Weather Service puts it. The long-range models look dry into early December.

Not that L.A. gets much rain in November. The monthly normal for downtown Los Angeles is 0.78 of an inch. Downtown normally receives 0.58 of an inch of rain in October, but got 0.71 of an inch, putting L.A. less than a quarter-inch above normal so far for the rainfall season.

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Opinion: There Are No More Water Miracles

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

It’s not March and there was no miracle.

A strong atmospheric river dumped record rain on Northern California last weekend and sent some modest showers to San Diego.

The downpours helped replenish the state’s dwindling reservoirs some, but not enough for Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift the drought emergency he expanded to the entire state last week.

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Scientists See a La Niña Coming. What Does That Mean for the Dry American Southwest?

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Gabrielle Canon

The wet winter the American south-west has hoped for as it battles extreme drought and heat is increasingly unlikely to materialize as scientists now predict that a phenomenon known as La Niña will develop for the second year in a row.

The weather system could intensify the worst effects of the drought that much of the region already finds itself in, including higher wildfire risks and water shortages through 2022.

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Q&A: La Niña’s Back and It’s Not Good for Parts of Dry West

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

For the second straight year, the world heads into a new La Niña weather event. This would tend to dry out parts of an already parched and fiery American West and boost an already busy Atlantic hurricane season.

Just five months after the end of a La Niña that started in September 2020, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a new cooling of the Pacific is underway.

 

La Niña Arrives, Threatening to Stoke Droughts and Roil Markets

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Brian K Sullivan

A weather-roiling La Niña appears to have emerged across the equatorial Pacific, setting the stage for worsening droughts in California and South America, frigid winters in parts of the U.S. and Japan and greater risks for the world’s already strained energy and food supplies.

The phenomenon—which begins when the atmosphere reacts to a cooler patch of water over the Pacific Ocean—will likely last through at least February, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. There is a 57% chance it be a moderate event, like the one that started last year, the center said.

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La Niña Brings More Worries Amid Drought

/in , , /by /The Daily Journalby Corey Browning

Though it’s unclear what the effects of the La Niña climate expected this winter will be for Northern California, drought-ending rain is likely not among them.

The climate pattern brought on by cooler-than-usual surface water in parts of the Pacific Ocean creates varying weather globally, but historically the phenomena has meant drier conditions in the southern part of the state and wetter conditions in the Pacific Northwest.

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New Water Year Begins with Most of the Basin in Drought

/in , , /by /Arizona Public Mediaby Alex Hager (KUNC)

October marks the beginning of a new calendar for those who measure and manage the west’s water. The good news? Across the Colorado River basin, there’s a lot less “exceptional drought.”

The amount of land under the absolute driest designation is down about 60% in less than a year. The bad news is that more than 90% of the basin remains in some level of drought.

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What is La Niña ?

/in , /by /AccuWeatherby Mary Gilbert

The term La Niña may be one that casual weather observers as well as aficionados hear meteorologists using from time to time, especially when breaking down long-term weather trends or providing a sneak peek at conditions expected during an upcoming winter or hurricane season. But, what exactly is La Niña? Let’s take an in-depth look.

The key to how winter in the United States may unfold often lies thousands of miles away in the open waters of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It’s there where the roots of a climatological phenomenon known as La Niña originate and eventually help shape weather patterns worldwide.

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This Is How Much Rain California Needs to Get Out of the Drought

/in , , /by /SF Gateby Amy Graff

With California starved for water amid dire drought conditions, there’s a lot of hope that the upcoming winter will deliver plentiful rain and snow.

But exactly how much precipitation is needed to pull the state out of a drought?

The California Department of Water Resources, the state agency that manages drought responset, has answered that question with a model from the U.S. Geological Survey.

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