In August 2015, forecasters predicted that a “Godzilla El Niño” would be heading to the western United States, potentially wiping out (or at least putting a major dent) in the widespread drought. Meteorologists pointed to the similarities between the ocean warming in 1997 and the pattern seen last summer. So far, the forecasters correctly predicted that the El Niño warming patterns would continue to build and rival the intensity of the 1997-1998 El Niño. But unfortunately for the drought in the western United States, the El Niño ocean warming patterns have not translated into significantly above average rainfall totals. After series of promising storms in January, a warm and dry February provided little relief to the drought. At the beginning of February, the US Drought Monitor reported that 39.41% of California faced exceptional drought conditions. At the last update on March 8th, 38.48% of the Golden State had exceptional drought, a reduction of less than 1%. Continue reading
Category Archives: General
El Niño and Drought Relief in the Pacific Northwest
As 2016 begins, climate researchers remain optimistic that the El Niño pattern that began to build last fall will hold and will generally deliver wet weather across areas of the US facing some of the worst drought conditions such as California. At the January 8th Operation Sierra Storm Conference in Lake Tahoe, Sasha Gershunov, climate and meteorology researcher at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego said that, “So far we’ve got out of this event exactly what we expected.” From the initial snow survey on December 30th, California’s mountain snowpack is currently at 136% of average, and many parts of the state received precipitation during the first two weeks of the year. Unfortunately, while the initial snow survey results represent a good start, (especially in comparison to last year’s record low snowpack) the precipitation has not made an appreciable dent in the drought conditions across much of the Western United States. According to the most recent US Drought Monitor conditions, despite appreciable rainfalls, severe drought continues to cover parts of California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The severity of California’s drought has not yet decreased dramatically either. The land area of exceptional drought (the most severe category) fell from 44.84% last week to 42.66% this week. Continue reading
Water Exporter Riverside Sues State over 28% Cutback
In California, drought has been redefined as when your city has surplus water it already sells to alleviate shortages of other water suppliers that doesn’t count towards its state-mandated water cutback. Even water suppliers that are water independent and export water to other water districts to alleviate drought are being tagged with as much as 28 percent mandated water cutbacks.
One such city is Riverside, which has sued the California Water Resources Control Board over its 28 percent reduction mandate on the basis that it is “water independent” and its groundwater should be counted toward meeting the requirements for only a 4 percent water curtailment. Statewide the Water Board’s goal is to cut back urban water usage by an average of 25 percent. But the Water Board has mandated a certain percentage of water reduction, from 4 to 36 percent, for each city based on gallons of water used per person per day.
Bottled Water and the Drought: The Center of Debate over Water Policy in Oregon and California
The drought in the western United States is currently at its worst across much of California and Nevada, where exceptional drought covers 46.73% and 18.38% of each state respectively according to the US Drought Monitor. Parts of Utah, Idaho and Oregon are also experiencing extreme drought. In Oregon’s case, the drought unfortunately is only getting worse. At the start of the calendar year, 49.29% of the state was under severe drought conditions or worse. Currently, 68.48% of the state is under these conditions. The drought has prompted Oregon Governor Kate Brown to declare drought emergencies in 15 counties. The drought declaration gives the affected counties eligibility to receive Federal funding and assistance to combat the lingering effects of the drought. In relation to the drought declaration she said, “The majority of our state is parched due to the warm winter and lack of snow. As we move into summer, many areas of the state are going to dry out quickly, likely leading to a difficult fire season as well as water shortages.” Continue reading