Tag Archive for: Northern California

Groundwater Beneath Your Feet Is Rising With the Sea. It Could Bring Long-Buried Toxins With It

/in , /by /KQEDby Laura Klivans

Rising seas can evoke images of waves crashing into beachfront property or a torrent of water rolling through downtown streets. But there’s a lesser-known hazard of climate change for those who live along shorelines the world over: freshwater in the ground beneath them creeping slowly upward. For many Bay Area residents who live near the water’s edge, little-publicized research indicates the problem could start to manifest in 10-15 years, particularly in low-lying communities like those in Oakland, Alameda and Marin City.

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We May Have a Colder Winter, but Experts Say the Climate is Still Warming

/in , , /by /CapRadioby Ezra David Romero

This winter may seem colder than previous warmer winters Californians have experienced in recent history, because a moderate to strong La Niña is forming over the pacific.

But La Niña, an annual weather pattern off of the Pacific Ocean that often dictates California’s drier conditions in the winter, doesn’t buck global warming trends, according to Michelle Mead, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Mead says since California is this long skinny state, La Niña’s impact will differ depending on where you live, just like the storm moving across Northern California this week.

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First Rains of Year Didn’t Bring Much to Northern California — But Another Storm is Coming

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Molly Burke

In some places, more than an inch of precipitation fell Friday in Northern California while other places, including Sacramento, saw only a fraction of that. Whatever came down in the first rains of the season were a mere drop in the bucket.

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First Weekend of November Could See Snow, Rain in Northern California

/in , , /by /ABC10by Rob Carlmark

 After a very warm and dry October for Northern California, some big changes are coming for the first weekend in November. Most of this week will be warm, sunny and dry with high temperatures well above the average of 70 degrees. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will see highs close to 80 degrees and remain rain-free.

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California Fires: State Feds Agree to Thin Millions of Acres of Forests

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

The two dozen major fires burning across Northern California were sparked by more than 12,000 lightning strikes, a freak weather occurrence that turned what had been a relatively mild fire season into a devastating catastrophe

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Harmful Algae Blooms Return to California Waterways

/in , /by /The Mendocino Voiceby Lana Cohen

We depend on reader support to bring you up-to-the-minute, in-depth, useful news from across the county and Northern California. By making a contribution or becoming a member you’re ensuring our continued ability to bring you the most useful news for all of Mendocino.

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When Life Dries Up

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Nowhere has California’s dry winter hit harder than the state’s far north.

In a handful of counties along the rural Oregon border, where late-season rains have done little to sate the parched forests and dusty plains, hundreds of farmers are at risk of having their irrigation water shut off — and watching their crops wither in the field.

The Klamath Project, a U.S. government-operated waterworks that steers runoff from the towering Cascades to more than 200,000 acres of potatoes, alfalfa, wheat, onions and other produce on both sides of the state line, is running low on supplies. The local water agencies served by the project say they may not have water to send to farms beyond next month.

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Coalition to Take Major Step in Acquiring Potter Valley Project from PG&E

/in , /by /Redwood Timesby Shomik Mukherjee

A partnership of numerous Northern California agencies intends to file an initial plan on Wednesday to acquire the Potter Valley project from the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., multiple sources confirmed.

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Drought Makes Early Start of the Fire Season Likely in Northern California

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

Expanding and intensifying drought in Northern California portends an early start to the wildfire season, and the National Interagency Fire Center is predicting above-normal potential for large wildfires by midsummer.

Mountain snowpack has been below average across the High Sierra, southern Cascades and the Great Basin, and the agency warns that these areas need to be monitored closely as fuels continue to dry out. The agency also cites a warm, dry pattern in Oregon and central and eastern Washington, and assigns all of these areas a higher-than-average likelihood of wildfires in July.

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Southern California Swelters as Drought Intensifies in Northern California

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

Temperatures will remain above seasonal norms in Southern California on Saturday as offshore gradients relax. A return of onshore flow will result in slight cooling at the coast and in coastal valleys, but interior areas will be slightly warmer.

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