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Storm Poised To Slam Sierra, Dump Another 2 Feet Of Snow

Get ready for round two. After a fierce storm blasted the northern Sierra Nevada over the weekend, another system is slated to batter the mountain range straddling California and Nevada late Tuesday night into Wednesday. The National Weather Service reports, “This storm will not be as potent as the system that moved through Sunday,” but travelers should still be prepared for winter driving conditions with chain control in effect on Highways 80 and 5o. The NWS issued a winter weather advisory warning of slippery roads, reduced visibility and travel delays between midnight Tuesday and midnight Wednesday.

First Rain In Over A Month? Chances Increase As Firefighters Grow Desperate

Everyone’s rain dances are working. The Thanksgiving week weather forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area looks more likely for the first precipitation in a month, as California is ravaged by the deadliest wildfire in state history, raging through bone-dry foothills, and sending unhealthy pollution through the most populated regions.

81-Degree Reading Likely Sets Record For Highest Temperature Ever Measured in California Waters

Two buoys off the coast of San Diego last week recorded what researchers believe could be the highest temperature ever measured in California waters.

A sea-surface temperature of 81.3 degrees was logged Thursday by both the Torrey Pines buoy (7.3 miles offshore) and the neighboring Scripps Nearshore buoy (.7 miles from the coast). The buoys are two of 25 managed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.

Drought Back On The Map For Northern California

Drought has crept back into Northern California. Despite a flurry of late storms in spring, precipitation for the winter season was below normal and the region is facing moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions once again, according to the federal government’s U.S. Drought Monitor. What’s more, temperatures were above normal throughout winter. The Drought Monitor’s weekly map, released Thursday, shows a large swath extending north of San Francisco through the Sacramento Valley to the Oregon border in moderate drought. The Bay Area and the North Coast went from normal to abnormally dry; parts of the northern Sierra remain normal.

California’s Only Sea Is Dying And Now Threatening Children

The Salton Sea is steadily disappearing, and communities near it are literally being left in the dust. California’s largest body of water — located in Imperial County near the Mexico-U.S. border — has been sinking for years, and dust clouds containing heavy metals, agricultural chemicals and fine particulates connected to asthma and other diseases are harming young people in that area. Children living in Imperial Valley have higher rates of respiratory problems compared to children elsewhere in the United States, according to a recently released government-funded survey conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California.