Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Sierra snow grows, but Bay Area rain deficit is 3rd worst since 1849
California’s water picture is heading in two different directions. A major storm last week and a more modest system Tuesday continued to boost the Sierra Nevada snowpack, the source of one-third of the state’s water supply, in promising ways. But the Bay Area and most cities across Northern California remain stuck in one of the worst two-year rainfall deficits seen since the 1849 Gold Rush, increasing the risk of water restrictions and dry wildfire conditions locally next summer.
Related articles:
- The Visalia Times-Delta: Sierra snowpack lags behind average, despite ‘atmospheric river’ blasting California, Valley
- Turlock Journal: January storm provides much-needed rain and snow
- Ag Alert: ‘A blessing’: Storms help bolster aquifers, snowpack
- Monterey Herald: Monterey County to dry out, warm up by weekend
- The Record Searchlight: A bad omen for 2021? There were 297 wildfires in California in January, nearly tripling five-year average.
- The Independent: ‘Concurrent disasters’: How California could see more severe mudslides as a result of wildfires