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La Niña: What it Means for California’s Drought and the Upcoming Winter Rainy Season

The day before the state’s “water year” ended, Silicon Valley leaders gathered on Google’s campus in Mountain View and urged residents to continue conserving water as California’s drought drags on.

“It’s the third straight year of a bad and worsening drought,” said Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, on Thursday. “Our scientists and climatologists predict that as we move into the winter, we can expect another, fourth dry year.”

As California Gets Its Final Winter Rains, Drought Is Setting Up a Water Battle

On a recent day in the San Joaquin Valley, the rain falling outside was cause for celebration for Aaron Fukuda.

“For us, water is a mood,” Fukuda, president of the Tulare Irrigation District, said over the phone.

As a third consecutive dry year sets in on California, drought has become a source of stress and anxiety for farmers and communities. But rain brings happiness. If only the rain came more often, Fukuda stated.

As Persistent West Coast Ridge Builds, California (Mostly) Warms Up and Dries Out

Taking stock: a good start to Water Year 2021-2022

I’ll keep this part pretty short and sweet: for the Water Year to date, most of California is in pretty good shape when it comes to precipitation. And that’s good news, given the historic severity of the regional drought as recently as late September.

Rainy Season Checklist | How to Help Keep San Diego Waters Clean

The rainy season is in full swing. When we talk about the rainy season, there’s a checklist that the County of San Diego wants you to remember because stormwater pollution is a major problem here.

“While you’re looking at your property and your home and your world, you should do everything we can to keep pollutants off of the streets, off of our curbs and gutters, out of our storm drains and out of our local waterways,” said Stephanie Gaines, the Program Coordinator for the County of San Diego.

San Jose: New Drought Rules and Water Fees Go Into Effect — What They Mean for Your Bill

October storms helped this winter’s rainy season get off to a good start across Northern California. But they weren’t enough to erase the two very dry previous years: 80% of California remains in an extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly federal report.

Reservoir levels are very low and groundwater tables are depleted because the past two years had the least rainfall in Northern California of any two-year period since 1976-77.

Here’s How Much the Latest Atmospheric River Added to California Reservoir Levels

Another atmospheric river swept through the Bay Area this week, adding to what has been a wet start to the rainy season.

So how much did the second round of rain add to the state’s water supply?

California’s Rainy Season Is Changing. Here’s What That Means for Already Worsening Fire Danger.

After two dry years, the California is in desperate need of rain and snow. October marks the beginning of California’s new water year, which will run through Sept. 30 next year.

This also signals the transition from the long, dry summer months to the wetter time of year. But new research is showing a delay to California’s rainy season.

Rainy Season Peters Out in Another Moisture-Starved Year for S.F.

A too-dry February left San Francisco with only 38% of normal rainfall for the month, and forecasters say residents should get used to it: With the wet season ending, it’s almost impossible to see the water year ending with anything close to a normal soaking.

San Francisco’s rain total for February — typically the heart of the rainy season along with December and January — was just 1.71 inches, compared to the 4.46 inches that’s considered normal, National Weather Service Bay Area officials said. A year ago it was even worse: February 2020 brought no rain to San Francisco.

California’s Rainy Season Starting Nearly a Month Later Than it Did 60 Years Ago

The start of California’s annual rainy season has been pushed back from November to December, prolonging the state’s increasingly destructive wildfire season by nearly a month, according to new research. The study cannot confirm the shift is connected to climate change, but the results are consistent with climate models that predict drier autumns for California in a warming climate, according to the authors.

Savor the Last Drops — Bay Area Rains Not Expected Again Until 2021

If Bay Area residents didn’t take time to appreciate Wednesday’s overnight dousing, it seems it’s too late. It’s all we’re going to get until 2021, forecasters say. Following the much-needed downpour that led to Thursday morning’s soaked roadways, an unusually dry holiday season lies ahead.