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Colorado Rethinks Dam Safety as Climate Change Heightens Risk for State’s 27 “Unsatisfactory” Structures

/in , , /by /The Fort Morgan Times (Fort Morgan, Colo.)by Bruce Finley

A climate-driven shift toward extreme storms has compelled Colorado officials to rethink the safety of hundreds of dams across the state that hold water and mine waste, including 27 high-hazard structures near people that already are listed as deficient.

They’re trying to calculate the potential for sudden hard rain resulting in flooding and accelerated erosion that could trigger fatal collapses.

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‘Round After Round’ of Rain Will Drench San Diego County Into Wednesday Night

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

San Diego County will experience a second day of heavy rain Wednesday from a cold storm out of the north that tapped into tropical moisture from the south as it surged into Southern California, according to the National Weather Service.

The entire region will get soaked, and all areas are under a flash flood watch. But the rain will be heaviest in northern and central San Diego County, especially along Interstate 15, from roughly Escondido north to the county line, forecasters say.

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California Finally Gets Rain, But Fire Threat Far From Over as 350,000 Face Power Outages

/in , /by /USA Todayby John Bacon

Parts of Southern California were under a flash flood watch Wednesday as areas of the southwest saw the first significant rainfall of a delayed wet season that fueled wildfires and forced intermittent power cutoffs to millions of residents.

The storm system brought heavy rain to portions of Arizona, and Phoenix could get 2 inches of rain before the storm ends there on Thursday. Prior to this storm, Sky Harbor International Airport had recorded only 3.68 inches for the entire year.

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The First Rain of the Season Arrives in LA. But Don’t Get Excited – It’s Just a Drizzle

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alexandra Reyes-Velarde

Dust off your windshield wipers, L.A. The first rain of the season dripped from the skies Thursday morning, sprinkling morning commuters.

Extreme fire warnings across California have officially expired, thanks to a slight chance of light rain through Saturday, with low clouds and much cooler temperatures than in the last few days, said Tom Fisher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

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Here’s How Much Rain Fell Across San Diego County Before Dawn On Thursday

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by Gary Robbins

Here are local rainfall totals for the 24-hour period ending at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday. The National Weather Service says that isolated rain and thunderstorms could occur today in the mountains and deserts.

Forecasters also report that there were 17 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the county late Wednesday and early Thursday, and 30 lightning flashes. Virtually all of the activity occurred in the mountains and deserts.

A cooling trend will continue throughout San Diego County and last into the weekend. Thursday’s high in San Diego will be 73. The high on Sunday will be 68, about seven degrees below average.

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County’s Wet, Weird May Was Wonderful Out On The Farm

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

It was wet, but it wasn’t San Diego’s wettest May. In fact, it didn’t crack the city’s top 10. It was cool, but many other Mays have been cooler, including last year. But May 2019 was certainly among the city’s all-time weirdest. And to San Diego County’s $1.77 billion agricultural industry, it was nothing short of wonderful. “We haven’t had a recent May where we’ve had something like this,” National Weather Service forecaster Miguel Miller said. “In the 20 years I’ve been here, I cannot think of another May that was inclement the entire month.”

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Mammoth Mountain received record snowfall in May 2019. Photo: Mammoth Mountain, Inc. California Reservoirs

California Reservoirs Near Capacity in May

/in , /by

It has been a winter – and spring – for the record books, for California reservoirs and ski resorts. And, it’s not over yet.

Snow has continued to fall throughout May, with several inches or more in the Sierra Nevada and the southern California mountains.

In the lowlands, the City of San Diego has experienced one of its wettest months of May on record. The San Diego National Weather Service reported that Alpine and El Cajon set daily precipitation records on May 23.

The normal rainfall at Lindbergh Field during the water year (October 1 – September 30) averages about 10.3 inches. In the current water year, 12.7 inches of rain has been recorded at Lindbergh Field as of May 23.

May snowfall in the Sierra Nevada

“It’s atypical to see the snowpack increase in May,” said Alexi Schnell, water resources specialist with the San Diego County Water Authority. “The impact of atmospheric river storms helped push snowpack levels in the northern Sierra to 172 percent of normal as of May 23.”

Statewide Summary of Sierra Nevada Snow Water Content

A bountiful year for snow continued into May in the Sierra Nevada. Graphic: California DWR

Record snowfall also allowed many ski areas, from Squaw Alpine to Mammoth Mountain, to extend their ski seasons into late-Spring, with fresh powder in May a bonus for skiers.

A May to remember at Mammoth Mountain

Mammoth Mountain tweeted that it has received 29 inches of snow as of May 23, “officially our snowiest May on record, beating out May 2015.” (Video courtesy of Mammoth Mountain).

Major reservoirs near capacity

Many of the state’s major reservoirs are near capacity and are significantly above their historical averages as of May 23. Lake Shasta is at 97 percent of capacity and at 113 percent of its historical average.

Most major California reservoirs are near capacity and significantly above historical averages for May 23.

Most major California reservoirs are near capacity and significantly above historical averages for May 23. Graphic: California DWR

Summer is coming

Schnell cautions that this current water year is an exception, and the climatological cycle in California can bring several consecutive years of drought, like the 2015-2017 period, which prompted mandatory water-use reductions.

While the winter and spring has been ‘atypical,’ the summer could set some records too.

“Looking ahead over the next three months, the National Weather Service forecast shows that there is a greater than 50 percent chance the region will be warmer than normal,” Schnell said.

NWS Climate Prediction Center 3-month temperature outlook

NWS Climate Prediction Center three-month temperature outlook. Graphic: NWS/NOAA

Late-Season Rains Mask Looming Fire Danger As Lush Plants Turn Dry And Explosive

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Joseph Serna and Hannah Fry

Giant green stems with budding yellow flowers greeted hikers along a narrow path beneath the soaring Santa Monica Mountains on a recent drizzly day. This is where, just seven months ago, the worst fire in Los Angeles County history swept through, destroying more than 1,000 homes and blackening miles of hillsides and canyon. But thanks to one of the wettest seasons in years, rains have transformed the fire zone back to life with great speed. And all those flowering black mustard plants point to a looming disaster once the rains finally end and Southern California shifts to its dry, hot, windy summer and fall.

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California’s Unusually Wet Spring Is Delaying, Damaging Crops

/in , /by /KTLA 5 (Los Angeles)

California growers are frustrated by an unusually wet spring that has delayed the planting of some crops like rice and damaged others including strawberries and wine grapes. The state’s wet conditions come as much of the West is experiencing weird weather. Colorado and Wyoming got an unusually late dump of snow this week. Meanwhile temperatures in Phoenix have dropped 15 degrees below normal. Large swaths of California have seen two to five times more precipitation than is normal for this point in May, the National Weather Service said. A series of storms soaked much of Colusa County where rice grower Kurt Richter was forced to wait weeks to seed his land.

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May Is Proving To Be A Wet Blanket For California — And More Rain Is On The Way

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hannah Fry

The calendar shows it’s almost Memorial Day — typically beach weather in Southern California — but gray skies are signaling that unusually chilly temperatures and rain will stick around a bit longer during a month that has already broken precipitation records. The forecast this month has been a doozy in California with rain, hail and snow falling across much of the Golden State two months after the end of winter. Large swaths of the state, including parts of Los Angeles, have seen two to five times more precipitation than is normal for this point in May, according to the National Weather Service.

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