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Opinion: California Shouldn’t Have a One-Size-Fits-All Drought Response. It’s Unfair to San Diego County.

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

With California mired in a 2-year-old drought and with available water supplies dwindling in much of the Golden State, Gov. Gavin Newsom in July asked all Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15 percent. Five months later, disappointed at the indifferent response from millions of residents, Newsom’s administration is ready to try to force compliance.

Within weeks, the State Water Resources Control Board is expected to impose temporary bans on some outdoor uses of water — including watering lawns within 48 hours of local rainfall, hosing off driveways and filling decorative fountains. Violators would face fines of up to $500 a day.

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Here’s What It Would Take to Fill California’s Reservoirs and End the Drought This Winter

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow

Dire warnings about communities and farms running dry next year. Headlines proclaiming a potentially dry La Niña winter. Reservoirs already so low they look like sets for post-apocalyptic movies. California seems poised for a continuation of its crippling drought next summer.

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A ‘No Snow’ California Could Come Sooner Than You Think

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

It was 55 degrees and sunny Thursday at Sugar Bowl Resort, where the opening day of the 2021 ski season — already delayed because of warm weather — was still listed as “TBD.”

“Winter hasn’t quite arrived in Tahoe yet,” officials wrote in a note about the postponement. “The team will be working nightly and ready to flip the switch when Mother Nature cooperates.”

But the mountain isn’t the only place feeling the pinch from lack of snow. A new study led by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that dwindling snowpack across California and the western United States could shrink dramatically more — or in some cases disappear — before the end of the century.

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Denver Still Without Snow but Climatologists Say They’re More Concerned by Snowpack Levels Out West

/in , , /by /The Denver Postby Conrad Swanson

With each passing, snowless day, Denver extends its new record of the latest date at which the first measurable snow falls, busting through the old record of Nov. 21, set in 1934.

Climatologists are watching as the record climbs, estimating Denver’s dry spell could last until early December. But that’s not nearly as worrisome as the lagging snowpack levels in southwest Colorado, they say, specifically in the Sangre de Cristo, San Juan and San Miguel mountains.

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California Remains in Precarious Water Predicament

/in , , /by /Fox KTVUby Tom Vacar

October was a welcome water wonderland, but November was pretty much a dry bust for the Golden States. Was California’s wet October a sucker punch to the state’s all important reservoirs?

“Historically, 1976, which was historically dry, started off with a wet October, so we’re not counting our chickens yet,” said East Bay Municipal Utilities District Public Information Officer Andrea Pook.

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Denver Officially Breaks Snow Record That Has Stood Since 1934

/in , , /by /AccuWeatherby Brian Lada

Denver officially broke its all-time record for the latest first measurable snow when the Mile High City reported no snowfall on Sunday, surpassing a record that had stood since Nov. 21, 1934. AccuWeather meteorologists say that it could be weeks before the next chance for significant accumulation in the city.

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La Niña: Is California Heading Into Another Dry Winter?

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

You may have seen it on social media or heard it while talking to a friend: This is a La Niña year, so California won’t get any rain this winter and the severe drought is only going to get worse. Right?

Maybe not. Although that’s a common belief, it’s not supported by past history. The reality is that a lot depends on where you live.

 

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As Drought Persists, Californians are ‘Backsliding’ in Effort to Conserve Water

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

State water regulators urged Californians to do more to save water after the latest monthly data showed conservation lagging in September, with statewide water use in cities and towns decreasing 3.9% compared with the same month a year ago.

The reduction in water use was smaller than in August, when Californians used 5% less.

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What La Niña Means for California’s Drought

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Soumya Karlamangla

For California, the arrival of winter means the beginning of our rainy season, at least relatively speaking.

However much precipitation California is going to receive in a year, the bulk of it typically falls between December and March. And given the severity of our state’s ongoing drought, the amount of rain we get this winter couldn’t be of more importance.

October’s Torrential Rains Brought Some Drought Relief, But California’s Big Picture Still Bleak

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Lila Seidman

When a fierce early-season storm drenched parts of Northern California last month, some experts said it was in the nick of time.

Reservoir levels were critically low. Soils were parched. Fires rampaged through dry forests.

There was general consensus among climate experts that not even the record-breaking downpour would end the two-year drought plaguing the state. There was too much of a deficit, and a single storm — even of biblical proportions — would not be able to solve it in one fell swoop.

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