Tag Archive for: southern California

Post-Tropical Storm Hilary Pushes into Nevada After Drenching Southern California

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Christopher Weber, Damian Dovarganes and Jordi Lebrija

Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.

By early Monday, remnants of the storm that first brought soaking rains to Mexico’s arid Baja California peninsula and the border city of Tijuana, threatened Nevada and as far north as Oregon and Idaho with flooding.

Southern Californians were battling flooded roads, mudslides and downed trees.

Full Story

Hurricane Hilary Barrels Toward Southern California, Bringing Unprecedented Dangers

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey, Hayley Smith, Rong-Gong Lin II, Connor Sheets and Jeremy Childs

With Hurricane Hilary fast bearing down on the region, officials issued a tropical storm warning for a swath of Southern California Friday night — meaning tropical storm-force winds are expected in the region within the next 36 hours.

Southern California was already bracing for a rare and potentially destructive weekend. Such lashing winds would be only one of the storm’s potentially dangerous impacts, with forecasters also predicting intense rain, flash flooding in the desert and mountain areas and harrowing conditions along the beaches.

The storm has prompted officials to cancel events and issue dire alerts, particularly as the system moves across southwestern California on Sunday and Monday.

Full Story

As Salton Sea Shrinks, Potential for Earthquakes Reduced, New Study Finds

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie Sklar

The shrinking and drying out of the Salton Sea has reduced stress on the San Andreas Fault, possibly reducing the frequency and severity of earthquakes in Southern California, according to research from San Diego State University and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, found that the reduced stress on the fault from a significantly lesser amount of water may be delaying the next “big one.”

Full Story

Wildflowers Are Popping Up Across the Western United States

/in , /by /NPR

A wet winter in parts of California and Arizona means an epic wildflower season. In some areas the so-called “superbloom” can be seen from space.

Full Story

SoCal Plans to Reduce Imported Water Supplies by 2035

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Sarah Pilla

Colorado River water from Lake Mead makes its way to Southern California through the California River Aqueduct.

Once this water arrives in Lake Mathews, it’s then distributed to a water treatment plant owned by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Currently, most of the water in Metropolitan’s water treatment facilities are from Northern California from the State Water Project because of our wet winter.

Full Story

‘Nature Gave Us a Lifeline’: Southern California Refills Largest Reservoir After Wet Winter

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Following a series of winter storms that eased drought conditions across the state, Southern Californians celebrated a sight nobody has seen for several punishing years: water rushing into Diamond Valley Lake.

The massive reservoir — the largest in Southern California — was considerably drained during the state’s driest three years on record, with nearly half of the lake’s supply used to bolster minuscule allocations from state water providers.

Full Story

LA Reuses Lots of Stormwater, but Wants to Save More

/in , , /by /KCRWby Caleigh Wells

Hours after another storm soaked Southern California, LA County’s principal stormwater engineer Sterling Klippel stands at the base of the San Gabriel Dam, looking like a kid in a candy store. He gazes in awe at the thousands of gallons of stormwater rushing through this dam every second.

“Just this October, this facility was completely drained,” he says.

Full Story

California’s Wild Storm: the Fujiwhara Effect, a Bomb Cyclone, Even Landspout, Tornado Warnings

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Christian Martinez, Hayley Smith, Susanne Rust, and Luke Money

Even on the heels of an unusual winter of intense rain, wind and snow, the storm that slammed California on Tuesday came with some surprising conditions.

The storm was marked by powerful winds in the Bay Area and other parts of Central and Northern California that downed trees, created treacherous commuting conditions, broke windows in downtown San Francisco and caused power outages.

Full Story

After 14 Atmospheric Rivers, How Full Are California’s Reservoirs?

/in , , /by /KTLA 5by Tori Gaines

As wet weather has continued to impact California, some reservoirs across the state are being managed with scheduled releases of water to prevent flooding, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

After 14 atmospheric rivers hit back-to-back this winter, reservoirs began filling quickly. Though most of the major reservoirs aren’t full yet, several are significantly higher than they have been historically. This is especially true in Central California at the Don Pedro, Camanche and Oroville reservoirs, KTLA sister station KRON reports.

Full Story

Water Restrictions Lifted for Millions in SoCal, but Region Still Urged to Conserve

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Mandatory water restrictions are being lifted for nearly 7 million people across Southern California following winter storms that have boosted reservoirs and eased the severe shortage that emerged during the state’s driest three-year period on record.

Citing improvements in available supplies, the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has decided to end an emergency conservation mandate for agencies in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties that rely on water from the State Water Project.

Full Story