Caught in one of the driest two-year stretches in state history and with long-range weather forecasts coming up mostly empty, the key players battling California’s drought have plenty to be concerned about.
Whether it’s plunging reservoir levels, crumbling canals, empty wells or salmon die-offs, the water woes that have plagued the state for decades have returned forcefully during the pandemic.
Floods and other dangerous weather extremes are only getting more intense and more frequent as our climate warms. Historically, we’ve always been able to predict these extremes by looking at how often they occurred in the past. But a new study published Wednesday in Science Advances reveals just how many of those forecasts actually fall short. In just a decade, the findings suggest, the climate has shifted so drastically that the frequency of past extreme events is no longer a reliable predictor.
Much-needed snow will blanket California’s Sierra Nevada high country this weekend into next week, bringing hope of a “Miracle March” that could replenish vital, water-providing snowpack after a record-dry February.
A major change in the weather pattern is ahead for Northern California as unsettled and colder conditions will emerge. This change will be accompanied by low pressure that will track southward near the West Coast this weekend and will remain near California early next week before this system pushes eastward into the Great Basin.
More rain showers are expected Thursday throughout San Diego County and there is a chance of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon in the mountains and deserts.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch from noon Thursday through Thursday evening in the mountains and deserts.
The low-pressure system making its way inland is expected to produce heavy rainfall at times, which could cause flooding in low-lying areas, areas with poor drainage and desert mountain slopes, forecasters said.
With unusually dry, hot weather continuing for weeks on end and the driest February in the Bay Area in 156 years, nearly a quarter of California’s land area now is under drought conditions, federal officials announced Thursday.
Altogether, 23.3% of the state is in “moderate drought” — up from 9.5% last week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly report issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Several storms have barreled across much of California since before Thanksgiving. But now, a shift in the weather pattern looks to bring calmer weather.
Storm after storm dove across the state over the past several weeks, delivering rain, wind and mountain snow.
The jet stream, which helps to influence the track storm systems take, was a big part of the reason for the recent storminess.
Gusty winds in the San Diego County mountains this morning will precede significant rain showers throughout Southern California Wednesday, with a cold storm expected to make road conditions challenging for holiday traveler through the end of the week.
Wind gusts reaching 35-45 mph are expected in the mountains before the first front of the storm comes through Wednesday afternoon, National Weather Service meteorologist Miguel Miller said.
Hurricane-force winds, blizzard conditions, heavy snowfall — and a “bomb cyclone” on the West Coast: Those are the dire predictions of weather forecasters, who are warning Thanksgiving travelers to be cautious and prepare for delays as two powerful back-to-back storms hit the western and central U.S. this week.
The National Weather Service’s U.S. forecast map is draped in alarming shades of pink, purple and red, reflecting winter storm warnings that are in effect from California to Michigan.
A large and unusually warm mass of water is threatening to disturb the marine ecosystem along the Pacific Coast from Southern California to Alaska, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.
They call it the Northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave of 2019, and if it doesn’t dissipate soon, researchers said it could be as destructive as the infamous “blob” of warm water that caused massive toxic algae blooms along the coast and wreaked havoc on whales, salmon, baby sea lions and other marine life in 2014 and 2015.
Geodesy is the study of Earth’s shape, gravity field and rotation. An excellent method to study the Earth is by use of high-precision Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) stations that are firmly mounted on bedrock and can measure the slow, persistent ground motion of Earth’s crustal plates down to a few millimeters over time. In the western United States, there are more than 1,200 CGPS stations, including more than 25 on the Central Coast. A few of these stations are classified as Global Positioning System Meteorology (GPS-Met), such as the ones located in Cambria, Los Osos and Point Sal.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
