Welcome to the Weather Whys podcast.
I'm your host Ed Oswald from the Weather Station Experts.
In this episode, we're discussing California's mega drought.
Is it over?
I'm glad you could join us.
Let's get started.
The sound of rain.
Most Americans take this for granted, but rain is a valuable commodity
for those living in the West.
And more often than not, there's too little of it to go around.
That was the case across California over the past two decades.
Say for a brief respite here and there, rainfall has averaged well below normal.
This lack of rain Reservoir levels fell to the lowest recorded levels in
2023, and it seemed as if California and the rest of the West were
heading for a serious water crisis.
And then the rains came.
Starting in late December, a series of strong storms pummeled California.
Places that only see a few inches of rain in an entire
year got that in a single storm.
And it wasn't just one, over a dozen storm systems struck the
state between December and March.
These storms found their way to California along an atmospheric river.
Atmospheric rivers are narrow bands of wind that transport a lot
of water vapor from the tropics to more temperate climates.
They can be several thousand miles long and only tens to hundreds of miles wide.
Most of you will know these events by their nickname, the Pineapple Express.
The name comes from where it originates, near Hawaii.
Reservoirs that have been critically low rose quickly.
Perhaps the most significant change was Lake Oroville in Northern California.
In September 2021, water levels dropped to 628 feet, their lowest level ever.
By June of the following year, though, the lake was at 100 percent capacity,
rising some 300 feet over that period.
Historic snows in the Sierra Nevada were an added benefit.
After years of little snowfall, some areas saw 200 300 percent of
their normal snowfall, continuing into March and April in some places.
And for the first time in years, a snowpack made it through the
hot California summer, critical to keeping water flowing
during those dry summer months.
Then who would've expected a tropical system to strike Southern California?
That was an added bonus and helped alleviate the long-term drought
the state had been experiencing.
So after all this, can we say that California's mega drought is over?
We'll discuss that more after the break.
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Welcome back.
Even with all the rain that California has been seeing, is
the state truly in the clear?
Let's take a look at the bigger picture.
First, ground water mismanagement has left some underground aquifers
so dry that they've collapsed from the weight of the ground above them.
In some areas of California, the ground is actually sinking because of this.
Even in winter, as extreme as this past one, is not enough
to replenish these aquifers.
That will take multiple seasons.
In other words, if the state swings back to dry conditions again, the
megadrought will come roaring back.
But a few things are working in the state's favor.
We've already mentioned Hillary.
That storm gave unexpected replenishment to reservoirs across SoCal at a time when
little, if any, rainfall typically falls.
And while early on storms have targeted the northwest, another
area experiencing extended drought.
It appears at least a normal if not another wet winter is in
store thanks to the effects of El Niño, according to meteorologists.
That's very good news.
But we must keep in perspective the historic nature of this megadrought.
Prior to last winter, climate experts found that the drought was
more severe and long lasting than any other in the past 600 years.
Then there's the groundwater mismatchment.
The ground can't hold as much water as it used to due to the loss of those aquifers.
Even if these were to refill completely, California would still have less water
overall stored for the inevitable dry weather the states always experienced.
Combined with the effects of climate change, the normal swings of California's
climate have become much more pronounced.
While we're apparently in a period of higher precipitation, it would
have to continue past this winter to truly make a difference.
So while California might be out of drought now by definition, the
threat of it will always be around.
But at least we've stepped back from the ledge, and Californians won't
be forced to make tough decisions.
At least for the near future.
You have just listened to the Weather Whys podcast.
I'm your host, Ed Oswald.
Weather Whys is a production of the Weather Station Experts and OzMedia.
Today's episode was produced by Derek Oswald and myself from our studios
here in West Lawn, Pennsylvania.
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That's all for today.
Be sure to join us again next time when we take a look at winter's
hidden danger, the snowstorm.
Thanks for listening, and stay weatherwise.