California suddenly not in drought

[everything]

https://www.newsweek.com/before-after-p ... ht-1808373
https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... ial-images

California’s two biggest reservoirs are all but full after reaching perilously low levels late last year.

Lake Shasta, at 96% full, and Lake Oroville, at 100%, had fallen to around 25% to 30% of their capacity before the state’s historically wet winter rejuvenated them.

Statewide, reservoirs are at 85% of total capacity, well above their 30-year average of 73% for the month of June. With the Sierra Nevada snowpack still above three times its normal level for mid-June, they are expected to fill up even more as the snow melts.

The before-and-after images below from NASA show Lake Shasta on Nov. 18, 2022, when the lake stood at just 31% of capacity, and again on May 29, 2023, when it was 98% full.

[Steve James]

They say not in drought, but they just mean the reservoirs are fuller. There's no guarantee of more rain. That's why CO, CA, and NV are agreeing to water sharing limitations. That's a good thing.

The potentially bad thing is that there's going to be a lot more meltwater coming. We're in an El Nino cycle, and it's probably going to be much drier in the Southwest.

Fingers crossed.

[everything]

"not in drought" was my phrasing for the post, but I guess the "US Drought Monitor" considers it not in drought (but temporarily). Def seems like it's extreme swings from now on, from drought and no rain to "atmospheric rivers" dumping lots of snow whose melt could refill the lakes.

This doesn't seem like a good situation at all, but at least there is water for now. Idk why some of my family (and people in general) moved to the SW (I mean it's super cool, but other than that)

[Steve James]

I just read this.

"Good winters followed by equally good spring runoff have been hard to come by in the West in recent years. Even when above-average snowpack has fallen, the runoff hasn’t produced as much water because the parched ground sucks up more water before it can make it to the reservoirs.

“You have one good year and it’s historically followed by three bad years,” James Heffner, a senior hydrogeologist at the Arizona Department of Water Resources told CNN.

Even with this good year, the Colorado River is still expected to be operating in a so-called Tier 1 shortage next year – an improvement over the first-ever Tier 2 shortage that was implemented this year, and necessitated additional water cuts from Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

Even so, states are expected to continue to cut back on their water use with the federally compensated program."

Hopefully we won't have three bad years after this one. Fingers crossed.

[Bill]

It looks like California is in for quite a bit of rain over the next 40 years.

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/california-extreme-climate-future-ucla-study#:~:text=California%20is%20headed%20for%20a%20future%20of%20precipitation,wet%20%E2%80%94%20by%20the%20end%20of%20the%20century.

[everything]

it seems it could mean Southern California gets too much rain, but Northern and Central California may not necessarily get a lot of refill/over-fill of the reservoirs

https://www.weather.gov/sto/ENSOinformation

[everything]

more on the fight and dire situation

[everything]

Hurricane Hilary may be dropping a year's worth of water (needed water but possible flooding emergencies)

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... ane-hilary

[Steve James]

Alternating periods of extreme weather events. Some, as in Hawaii, hurricane winds spreading fires. In Canada, evacuating cities because of fire or smoke is becoming a thing. We can say we've got nothing to do about, but we sure have to go along with it. The earth is a closed system that will rebalance itself.

[everything]

with a hurricane, you can do some reasonable prep (including evacuating ahead of time). with those fires, doesn't seem possible.

there is that one house that happened to install a metal roof and move some plants away from the house proximity (out of termite, not fire, concern).
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-wor ... f-lahaina/

that is a level of "prepping" i don't think i'd do.

[Steve James]

Imo, the main problem isn't just the events, even if they're more severe. The problem is that they're occurring where they've rarely or never happened before. A class four hurricane is one thing in Miami, but something completely different in Los Angeles or Los Vegas. Though, people will adapt because they have to. Well, I'm talking about the US. People who live in places that can't stand the change will move.

[everything]

oh yeah definitely. i wonder why there isn't already more "climate change migration". although that SoCal weather is still amazing to me. but why people want to live in the desert (well it does seem beautiful) makes no sense to me. there is heavy migration to the US South, but probably not fast enough.

on a tangent, I wonder what crops are prioritized with the water shortage? like you would think grapes aren't important. but if that's your business, i'm sure you'd disagree. if they have a choice to stack rank the cash crops, though, what do farmers (or Big Ag companies) choose?

[Steve James]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeYe0Nkn5eI

[everything]

my friend felt the earthquake very slightly before the big rains came. so odd.

[yeniseri]

We know what drought is but how and why it persists is more than just temperature or CO2!
Human habits and attempting to change "nature" as it is, will always be a failed attempt despite patting our back on how
all of the dam building, has helped agriculture, Yes, it has but it also created additional problems that are catching up with us.

WInd patterns are affected by heat, and when heat, cold and any combination, thereof, changes, it affects weather patterns, as we know.
Add icemelt, the addition of 'fresh water', which changes concentration of salt water, then additional patterns emerge and reverses wind current,
or causes them to remain static, this is the when chaotic conditions show themselves. El NIno and La Nina patterns reflect this perfectly!