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California Faces Its Worst Year On Record For Drought Conditions
View from an observation plane taken by Mammoth-based Airborne Snow Observatories earlier in February.
(
Courtesy Airborne Snow Observatories
)
If California doesn't get substantially more rain, this year could be the worst ever for the state's drought conditions.
Alvar Escriva-Bou, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, said we likely won't see any rain in February, but next month could bring better results.
If it doesn't rain (substantially) more, the 2022 #drought could be the worse year ever for #California. Take a look at this updated chart to see how water storage levels compare with the forecasts I did back in October. #cawater https://t.co/iWhq6KqNth pic.twitter.com/fOuA1BG0By
— Alvar Escriva-Bou (@AlvarEscriva) February 9, 2022
"In 1991, we were in drought and we had a March Miracle, meaning it was a really rainy March," he said.
At the start of February, Northern Sierra/Trinity and Central Sierra were at 89% of normal and South Sierra was at 92%
(
Courtesy Dept. of Water Resources
)
But even if that happens again next month, Escriva-Bou said he's not confident it will take the out of drought.
"Only a generous year of rainfall" will move the needle out of the danger zone, he said.
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Residents can conserve water by installing things like low-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads, landscaping with native plants and turning off the faucet while brushing teeth or shaving.
Record broken: Our lack of storms over the last month has now led to the longest consecutive period without measurable #precipitation during meteorological winter (WY 1971-2022) with 32 since our last #snowfall.
— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) February 9, 2022
The previous record was 31 days in 1990. 1/2#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/8Ht4lbTETV
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