California Drought

   / California Drought #801  
Personally, I'm fascinated by the differences in oxygen isotope ratios in organisms like diatoms and mollusks that have been used to make very reproducible temperature indices. As far as anyone can tell it is straight physics of the different diffusion speeds of different isotopes of oxygen, and calcium / strontium ratios. E.g.

How are past temperatures determined from an ice core?

www.scientificamerican.com www.scientificamerican.com

Similar isotope effects cause 13C diamonds to be even better conductors of heat than normal 12C carbon diamonds. There's been a long push to make them for semiconductor chips to get heat off the integrated circuits faster, which allows for higher chip speeds.

Not really susceptible to assumptions, or bias, but as @riptides pointed out, there is always room to learn more. In my experience Nature, is generally more complicated than assumed. I like Occam's razor, but I detest assuming. It gets me into trouble on troubleshooting my tractor, and in the rest of my life, and you know what they say about assume...

All the best,

Peter
 
   / California Drought
  • Thread Starter
#802  
orezok said:
It may be over for this year, but it’s not over. Keep guessing.
Click to expand...
It's funny how when an expert predicts something and they are completely wrong and proven so with hard evidence they don't admit it. Many times they will adjust their prediction to fit the evidence. I.E. global warming turns into climate change. For the west coast's sake I hope the experts continue to be proven wrong.
 
   / California Drought
  • Thread Starter
#805  
I hope the experts are right THIS TIME!

abc7.com

No widespread drought is expected in California for the next 2 years, forecasters say

Following the recent winter storms, no widespread drought is expected in California for the next two years, through 2025 and into early 2026, AccuWeather forecasters announced Monday.
abc7.com abc7.com

No widespread drought is expected in California for the next 2 years, forecasters say​


LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Following recent winter storms, no widespread drought is expected in California for the next two years, through 2025 and into early 2026, AccuWeather forecasters announced Monday.

The weather company said it came to this conclusion after an extensive review of all available data and consultation with their expert team of long-range forecasters.

"That sets California up to be in a very good position here in terms of water supply over the next couple of years," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.

Porter said El Niño has directed storms at California that has provided a lot of rain and refilled reservoirs.

At the moment, six of the state's most important reservoirs sit at or are above the historical average water levels.

"That gives us confidence that water is not going to be a scarce issue here in the short term in California," Porter said.

All this comes on the heels of what has turned out to be yet another wet winter, swamping California with heavy rainfall and flooding. The frequent deluges have fended off a return to the drought that has plagued the state over the past decade.

Some parts of California are so wet these days that even Death Valley National Park has a lake big enough for kayakers.

A powerful blizzard that closed highways and ski resorts had moved through the Sierra Nevada by early Monday, but forecasters warned that more snow was on the way for the Northern California mountains.

Last week's monster storm in the Sierra Mountains dumped up to 12 feet of snow, securing a healthy snowpack. Snowpack in the Sierra Mountains is important because during the summer, melting snow flows into the state's water table.

However, Porter said they'll have to keep an eye on warmer temperatures that could impact how fast the snow melts.

"That can result in some concerns about localized flooding as all of that snowpack melts into the creeks and streams, and eventually rivers and gets into the reservoirs," he said.

In Southern California, there will be a couple of pleasant days starting Monday before more rain arrives midweek.

Even with the laggard start to the rainy season, water storage in California's major reservoirs has been well above average thanks to runoff from last year's historic snowpack.

Some reservoirs have been releasing water into rivers to make room for incoming storm runoff and maintain flood control protection for downstream areas.

Even with all the rain and moisture, the threat of wildfires doesn't go away altogether.

"All of that extra vegetation that's now grown out can dry out quickly, and especially at times when we're dealing with any kind of gusty wind. There's still going to be a risk for some wildfires," Porter said. "Every drop of water is so precious in California, and that's going to continue to be the case whether there's widespread drought or not."

Porter said people should not let their guard down because the drought could return in the future, so it's important to continue finding new ways to conserve water.
 
   / California Drought #806  
California has layers to its water recharge and reserves. Snow provides water into reservoirs and soils slowly over an extended time period. Episodic thunderstorms tend to flow quickly across the landscape and into streams and reservoirs, but with reduced groundwater recharge. Slow sustained rains tend to do a good job of groundwater recharge, and minimize erosion and runoff pollution.

For California especially, where rainfall can be highly variable in intensity, the totals can be less informative than how the precipitation occurred, when it occurred, and in what form. The recent hurricane and storms in Southern California dumped large quantities of water, most of which ran out to the ocean, having overwhelmed the few debris basins, and the ability of the soil to absorb water.

There is also the rural/urban divide about whether the water in question is predominantly ground water, or reservoir sourced, affecting one's view of drought and water scarcity, or lack thereof.

Like many things, I think the question of drought or water reserves isn't simple.

All the best,

Peter
 
   / California Drought #807  
Since Cali has a lot of water now, I can predict they won't be spending as much on water retention and usage.
Seems like every 10 years Cali gets into a massive drought, and each time it's worse.
But then it rains and everyone goes on with their happy ways until the next crises.
More building, more usage and the next drought will be even more damaging.
Don't need any climate change to predict this one, since it has happened 6 times in my lifetime already.
 
   / California Drought #808  
That can’t be. Everyone is leaving CA according to the experts :ROFLMAO:
 
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