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That may happen more frequently as the climate continues to warm.
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Source: California Department of Water Resources Note: Annual lines use water years, which run from October through the end of the next year’s September.Ītmospheric rivers don’t always bring more snow storms can actually shrink the snowpack if precipitation falls as rain instead of snow at high elevations. 17, the recorded snow water equivalent was double what it was last year on the same date, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. A number of monitoring stations have measured record amounts of snow water equivalent (the amount of liquid water available in snow) for this time of year, reaching seasonal highs usually not seen until late April, when snowpack usually peaks. The recent storm systems have been the biggest contributor to the snow accumulation in the Sierra Nevada so far this winter.
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But snowmelt that begins in the spring and continues throughout the summer is crucial in refilling aquifers, too, typically providing about 30 percent of the water supply for the state. The winter is typically the rainy season for California, the time of year when many of the state’s aquifers get recharged with precipitation. Because warmer air can carry more moisture, atmospheric rivers, which are essentially long plumes of water vapor, will also be able to unleash larger cargoes of precipitation. But research suggests that global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions is making it more likely that any given drought will persist or become more intense, and less likely that any string of wet years will continue.Ĭlimate change will also worsen the wettest extremes. “It all helps the overall drought picture,” she added.Ĭalifornia has a naturally variable climate: Periods of drought are punctuated by periods of wetter weather. If reservoir levels continue to creep up above average levels, it could alleviate some deficits that have accumulated over consecutive extreme drought years, said Molly White, an operations manager for the California State Water Project. 16 where more recent data was not available. Source: California Department of Water Resources Note: Data as of Jan. Many have returned to or surpassed average levels, but few are at full capacity. The recent rains resulted in a quick and heavy influx of water into many of the state’s reservoirs. However, the state’s strategy of capturing water during wet periods and reserving it for dry periods gets “more difficult to implement because of the extremes becoming greater” in a warming climate, Dr. The state typically gets its precipitation during the late fall and winter, much of it from storms fueled by atmospheric rivers, and can go long periods of time in the spring and summer without any rain.Ĭalifornia has built its water infrastructure - reservoirs, wells and irrigation systems - in part to account for the imbalanced timing in precipitation. Simultaneous flooding and drought are “basically a byproduct of the high variability of California’s climate,” said Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis. The onslaught of precipitation also started to refill reservoirs and pile up snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. The storms inflicted widespread flooding and killed at least 20 people. Source: PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University Note: Data from the past six months is preliminary.