Prediction: Supposed to be windy and partly cloudy, in the 50s
Currently There’s a freakin’ thunder and hail storm in my area (middle of CA)
I think those drought maps for CA are going to look very diffe… - well, at least the first half of 2023, is likely to look very different.
Here are a few empirical measures of the state’s current water situation.
The snow pack in the mountains is now at least 100% of the April 1 average. Central and southern regions are well above 100%.
North: 100% of April 1
Central: 121%
South: 142%
State overall: 120%
The snow water content is currently at 247% of what would be expected for this time in January. The trend is actually above the super El Niño trend from 1982-83, but I doubt it will remain above that line for rest of the season. From what I understand, El Niño conditions do not currently exist in the eastern Pacific.
% % % % % %
California’s water reservoirs are replenishing, with levels going up. Oroville lake, for instance, is currently at 56% of capacity. It was at around 30% as recently as December.
The hailstorm ended and the sun came out, so I took the opportunity to grab some groceries and survey the local landscape.
News item from last week
To keep an eye on the broader drought in the west, keep an eye on Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Those supply most of the rest of the Southwest states.
They aren’t doing very well yet. Powell seems to get most of its water from snow melt, so it doesn’t start refilling significantly until Spring. Mead gets more rain runoff, so it hits it’s peak early in Spring. Both are currently lower than at any time during the last 5 years.
–Peter
I had seen a similar report elsewhere.
But, per the link waterfell provided, a few CA reservoirs including Oroville, Folsom, and Don Pedro had crossed their avg for the same time period mark. That’s nice. Now, if Shasta and a few others manage something similar, that would be helpful
For the other states, I had seen projections of one of the storms hitting the AZ-NV-CA area. I do recall, one Sept encountering torrential downpour from just outside Vegas all the way to about 60-70 miles in CA
This is all extremely good for the US economy. Food costs will come down going forward.
I am impressed by the snow amounts in the Rockies.
The damage will get repaired. Again the wheels of commerce will spin.
I live right above Hoover Dam and we have been getting hammered. About 5 storms so far and another coming in a couple of days. I have had my water sprinklers off for a month. Spring is going to be awesome in the desert with all the flowers.
Andy
Excellent. maybe a chance to flush out some of the silting… Hopefully it fills a bunch more!!
For those interested, the USDA has an website with interactive maps. The large dark blue areas are at greater than 3x normal (30-year average) for snow water equivalents.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/quicklinks/imap#version=167&elements=R&networks=!&states=!&basins=!&hucs=&minElevation=&maxElevation=&elementSelectType=all&activeOnly=true&activeForecastPointsOnly=false&hucLabels=false&hucIdLabels=false&hucParameterLabels=false&stationLabels=&overlays=&hucOverlays=&basinOpacity=100&basinNoDataOpacity=0&basemapOpacity=100&maskOpacity=0&mode=data&openSections=dataElement,parameter,date,basin,options,elements,location,networks&controlsOpen=true&popup=&popupMulti=&popupBasin=&base=esriNgwm&displayType=basinstation&basinType=6&dataElement=WTEQ&depth=-8¶meter=PCTMED&frequency=DAILY&duration=I&customDuration=1&dayPart=E&monthPart=E&forecastPubDay=1&forecastExceedance=50&useMixedPast=true&seqColor=1&divColor=3&scaleType=D&scaleMin=&scaleMax=&referencePeriodType=POR&referenceBegin=1981&referenceEnd=2010&minimumYears=20&hucAssociations=true&relativeDate=-1&lat=44.10&lon=-126.48&zoom=3.5
DB2
My inlaw, safely holding out in Carson City, NV sent me this link of CNN photos this morning…
Not nice…
01/19
Many parts of California now get a much needed rain break
After epic rains, California will have time to dry out. But for how long? (yahoo.com)