California Just Experienced a ‘Miracle’ Water Year. But Winter Could Bring New Challenges
The typically parched, brown hills above Los Angeles are a vibrant shade of green — a rarity for early October.
In state parks, waterfalls and rivers that were vastly reduced are now gushing with water.
And in Lake Oroville, boats float on deep blue water that only a year ago was shrinking toward record lows.
The transformed landscape is the result of a remarkable California water year that saw 141% of average rainfall statewide, officials announced this week. The state received 33.56 inches of rain — nearly twice the amount of rain recorded during the previous water year and nearly three times the amount from the year prior. The water year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
