The Upside of All That Rain: Less Drought
Mar. 24th, 2023 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
There's an upside to all the rainy, dreary weather we've been getting. After now 12 atmospheric rivers this season (again, normally 1-2 are enough to make news headlines for a few days) we're well past normal seasonal rainfalls in California. Reservoirs are filling up. A few are even discharging for the first time in a few years. We're gaining at least a one-year respite from drought.
I compiled a time series of charts from the U.S. Drought Monitor to show improvement in drought conditions over the past 6 months:

This is one of those cases where a picture is worth a thousand words. Just a few words I'll add in case you're not sure what you're seeing:
...And the rain season's not even over yet. The weather forecast shows another storm coming through mid-next week.
I compiled a time series of charts from the U.S. Drought Monitor to show improvement in drought conditions over the past 6 months:

This is one of those cases where a picture is worth a thousand words. Just a few words I'll add in case you're not sure what you're seeing:
- California has gone from being 100% in drought conditions, with significant areas deemed at Extreme or Exceptional levels of drought, to more than half the state being out of drought.
- The major population centers on the coast are out of drought, as is the agricultural San Joaquin Valley.
- The agricultural Sacramento River Valley remains in moderate drought.
...And the rain season's not even over yet. The weather forecast shows another storm coming through mid-next week.