A rare storm that dropped at least one-tenth of an inch of rain on much of the county Monday morning made this the wettest June in San Diego in at least 25 years.
“Did someone forget to call Mother Nature to let her know it’s almost July?” the local National Weather Service office asked on Twitter.
Across much of the United States, the flood risk is far greater than government estimates show, new calculations suggest, exposing millions of people to a hidden threat — and one that will only grow as climate change worsens.
California spent 376 weeks in a drought, from December of 2011 until March of 2019. That’s the longest duration of drought we’ve ever seen here in the Golden State. Now a study by Scripps Institution of Oceanography suggests wet and dry extremes in California are likely the result of severe storms called Atmospheric Rivers.
The Western drought has continued to expand and intensify, according to U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday.
Wet late-spring weather resulted in a slight decrease in the area deemed to be in extreme drought in Northern California.
Severe drought receded a little in parts of northeastern Utah and southwestern Washington. Unseasonably heavy precipitation, including high-elevation snow, fell in northeastern Utah, the Drought Monitor reported
An efficient, low-resolution machine learning model can usefully predict the global atmospheric state as much as three days out.
Though the last couple of weekends have seen wet weather, it hasn’t been enough to keep up with the yearly average in time for summer in California. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which is tested regularly by employees of the California Department of Water Resources, has yielded some grim results so far in 2020 in terms of snow-water equivalent.
Gusty winds are expected Tuesday in the San Diego County mountains and deserts, plus light rain could fall tonight in coastal and inland valley areas, according to the National Weather Service.
A weak, low-pressure system moving inland Tuesday will cause temperatures to drop through Wednesday, then the mercury will gradually rise heading into the weekend, forecasters said.
The NWS issued a wind advisory that will be in effect from noon Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday in the mountains and deserts.
Winds out of the west are expected to be between 20-30 mph, with gusts possibly reaching 45 mph near desert slopes and through mountain passes, forecasters said.
There is also a slight chance of light rain showers in coastal areas and the western valleys tonight, according to the NWS. Coastal areas have a 20% chance while the western valleys have a 30% chance.
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.
Not a drop of rain fell in February in Sacramento until the end of the month, making it the driest February on record for much of Northern California. For many farmers it was a painful harkening back to the drought that reached its peak and 2015, and marked the driest period in recorded California history.
Temperatures will remain mild Tuesday in San Diego County, but the mercury is expected to rise quickly starting on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
