Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Should ICE Agents Wear Masks? LA Mayor Bass Says No

5 hours ago

Brother of Army Ranger and NFL Star Pat Tillman Crashes Into Post Office

6 hours ago

Fresno Fire Destroys Vacant Building Near Old Fig Garden

8 hours ago

Nasdaq, S&P 500 Hit Fresh Records as Trade Talks, Tech Earnings in Focus

8 hours ago

At Least 19 Killed, Scores Injured as Bangladesh Air Force Jet Crashes Into College Campus

8 hours ago

Harvard, Trump Administration to Face off in Court Over Canceled Funding

8 hours ago

Ex-Epstein Lawyer Calls for Release of Additional Epstein Materials

1 day ago

Clovis At-Risk Missing Person Found Dead in Fresno Canal

3 days ago
Recent Storms 'Just a Drop in the Bucket' for California Drought
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
January 11, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

California has experienced a devastating, multi-year drought that’s depleted reservoirs, forced officials to plead with residents to conserve water and constrained supplies to vital farmland.

Suddenly, the state has been hit by a severe series of storms, with more expected in the coming days. The rain is soaking a state that desperately needs water, even as it takes a devastating human toll. Experts say it will help drought conditions, but it isn’t yet clear exactly how much. And the rain and snow won’t be enough to fix some of California’s long-term water problems that climate change is making worse.

“We are transitioning to a climate that is warming and more arid,” said Jeannie Jones, the interstate resources manager at California Department of Water Resources.

Here’s how the storms will affect California’s long struggle with drought:

Where Is the Rain Helping?

California has experienced six atmospheric rivers in recent weeks and is bracing for as many as three more, with the wild weather set to continue for at least another week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday from Santa Cruz County, where raging ocean water damaged an iconic wooden pier.

The storms have poured a tremendous amount of water on the state, especially in central California, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. Precipitation is 138% of average for this time of year, officials said. The storms have also dumped snow on the Sierra Nevada that run along California’s eastern border.

Most of the state’s reservoirs remain below average for this time of year, but some have begun to fill, especially those close to the hard-hit Sacramento region and along parts of the Sierra Nevada. The reservoirs are essential for irrigating the Central Valley, a productive stretch of farmland that grows large amounts of fruits, nuts and grains. The reservoirs also supply water to millions of people living in coastal cities.

For example, a small reservoir in Sonoma County that was at roughly half its historical average on Christmas had risen to 80% of that average by Monday.

“What we’ve got so far puts us in good shape, probably for at least the next year,” according to Alan Haynes, the hydrologist in charge of the California Nevada River Forecast Center.

Snowpack is its own type of reservoir, storing moisture that ideally melts slowly into reservoirs, supplying residents with water during the drier months of summer and fall. But now that snowpack often melts too quickly and reservoirs aren’t able to capture enough of it.

“The California system was built for a climate we don’t have any more,” said Laura Feinstein, who leads work on climate resilience and environment at SPUR, a public policy nonprofit.

Where Could the Storms Fall Short?

It’s still early in the winter and it’s unclear what the next few months will bring. Last year, statewide snowpack around this time also looked promising. But a few warm, dry months followed, and when snowpack was supposed to peak in early April, it was just 38% of the historic average.

“We are not out of the drought yet,” said Feinstein.

Plus, the storms haven’t dropped as much water on northern California. The state’s largest reservoir at Lake Shasta that was at 55% of its historical average on Christmas had risen to 70% by Tuesday — an improvement, but still well below historical averages due to years of water scarcity, according to Haynes.

The atmospheric rivers aren’t striking everywhere. They move around “like a garden hose if you are spraying it across the yard,” said David Gochis, an expert in how water affects the weather at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

“Those biggest reservoirs are just so massive it is probably going to take awhile for them to fill,” he said. For some of the biggest, most crucial reservoirs, it may take five or six such drenchings, he said.

David Novak, director of the NWS Weather Prediction Center, says the atmospheric rivers still to come will likely be weaker. The problem is the already wet ground won’t be able to absorb much more water, creating problems with runoff. In about 10 days, weather patterns may shift and finally “turn off the spigot,” he said.

And the Colorado River, a major source of water for Southern California, has also been stricken by drought that has depleted major reservoirs on that river. The recent storms won’t fix that problem.

What About Long-Term Issues Like Climate Change?

Many farmers in California pump water from underground, with the enormous amounts pulled from aquifers depleting groundwater. Some wells are running dry. It is an entrenched problem and it isn’t going to be solved by a short-term series of storms, experts said.

“Our management of land has prevented it from being recharged very well,” said Mike Antos, a watershed specialist at Stantec, a consulting company. He says the Central Valley needs more places for water flows to seep down and replenish aquifers.

And California is facing a long-term problem. Although there have been some wet years mixed in, California’s drought has been going on for roughly two decades. Climate change is creating drier, hotter conditions. Water evaporates faster. California officials predict there will be less water in the state’s future.

“So in that big picture, this series of storms really is kind of just a drop in the bucket,” Jones said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Iranian Foreign Minister Says Iran Cannot Give up on Nuclear Enrichment

DON'T MISS

RIP, Don Larson, 91: A Community Giant Who Brought Truth to Fresno Politics

DON'T MISS

Madera Teen Arrested for DUI After Passenger Killed in Crash, CHP Says

DON'T MISS

UK, France and 23 Other Nations Condemn Israel Over ‘Inhumane Killing’ of Civilians

DON'T MISS

Judge Overturns NW Fresno Costco Approval, Cites Flawed Environmental Review

DON'T MISS

Don See, Navy Veteran and Beloved Family Man, Dies at 91

DON'T MISS

I’m Not Leaving Measure C and COG Can’t Make Me: Brooke Ashjian

DON'T MISS

Marines Ending Los Angeles Deployment, Pentagon Says

DON'T MISS

‘Cosby Show’ Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies at 54, Media Reports Say

DON'T MISS

US Retail Giant Costco to Set up Global Capability Center in India, to Employ 1000 People, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Brother of Army Ranger and NFL Star Pat Tillman Crashes Into Post Office

UP NEXT

At Least 30 Injured When Car Hits Crowd Outside Los Angeles Club, Fire Department Says

UP NEXT

Blast at Los Angeles Sheriff’s Facility Leaves Three Dead, Media Reports

UP NEXT

DOJ Asks California Sheriffs for Names of Inmates Who Aren’t Citizens

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants California to Counter Texas on Redistricting

UP NEXT

Border Patrol Agents Raid a Home Depot in Northern California

UP NEXT

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

UP NEXT

Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive

UP NEXT

US Attorney General Bondi Visits Alcatraz After Trump Call to Reopen Notorious Prison

UP NEXT

US Transport Chief on California High-Speed Rail: ‘We Have to Pull the Plug’

UK, France and 23 Other Nations Condemn Israel Over ‘Inhumane Killing’ of Civilians

2 hours ago

Judge Overturns NW Fresno Costco Approval, Cites Flawed Environmental Review

2 hours ago

Don See, Navy Veteran and Beloved Family Man, Dies at 91

3 hours ago

I’m Not Leaving Measure C and COG Can’t Make Me: Brooke Ashjian

3 hours ago

Marines Ending Los Angeles Deployment, Pentagon Says

3 hours ago

‘Cosby Show’ Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies at 54, Media Reports Say

4 hours ago

US Retail Giant Costco to Set up Global Capability Center in India, to Employ 1000 People, Sources Say

4 hours ago

Should ICE Agents Wear Masks? LA Mayor Bass Says No

5 hours ago

Trump Threatens Washington Stadium Deal Unless NFL Team Readopts Redskins Name

5 hours ago

Brother of Army Ranger and NFL Star Pat Tillman Crashes Into Post Office

6 hours ago

Iranian Foreign Minister Says Iran Cannot Give up on Nuclear Enrichment

WASHINGTON – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News that Tehran cannot not give up on its uranium enrichment program wh...

8 minutes ago

Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, attends the opening meeting of BRICS Summit, at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 6, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 minutes ago

Iranian Foreign Minister Says Iran Cannot Give up on Nuclear Enrichment

Obituary Photo for Don Larson of Fresno
40 minutes ago

RIP, Don Larson, 91: A Community Giant Who Brought Truth to Fresno Politics

A 19-year-old Madera man was arrested for felony DUI after a high-speed crash Sunday, July 21, 2025, night that killed his 20-year-old passenger, according to the California Highway Patrol. (CHP)
2 hours ago

Madera Teen Arrested for DUI After Passenger Killed in Crash, CHP Says

Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. (Reuters/Hatem Khaled)
2 hours ago

UK, France and 23 Other Nations Condemn Israel Over ‘Inhumane Killing’ of Civilians

Costco Wholesale Building
2 hours ago

Judge Overturns NW Fresno Costco Approval, Cites Flawed Environmental Review

3 hours ago

Don See, Navy Veteran and Beloved Family Man, Dies at 91

3 hours ago

I’m Not Leaving Measure C and COG Can’t Make Me: Brooke Ashjian

U.S. Marines stand watch at a checkpoint as they guard a federal building, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Marines Ending Los Angeles Deployment, Pentagon Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend