Much of California and the southwest had less than a tenth of an inch of rain in January, normally the wettest month.
California state water officials announced that no state water will be delivered to local agencies serving 25 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland unless the drought breaks. That's very unlikely.
The Sierra snow pack was 12% of normal, after the first storm in 2 months, at the end of January. NOAA models predict continued low precipitation for the next 3 months. Two thirds of California's rainy season has passed. Then come the dry summer months.
The federal government also supplies water to municipalities and farmers but federal reservoirs are also depleted. Large cuts in federal water deliveries are anticipated.
January was catastrophically dry across California and the southwest. San Francisco airport received one hundredth of an inch of rain, not enough to wet the ground, in January, normally its wettest month. A vast area from California to Texas had under a tenth of an inch of precipitation in January. Snow is more effective at increasing water supplies than warm season rain because it evaporates less, so the lack of January precipitation will have devastating effects on water supplies.
As drought conditions worsen, California is taking the unprecedented step of cutting off water to contractors that serve 25 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland. ...
The announcement comes after state health officials said 17 communities and water districts are in danger of running out of water within 100 days, including Cloverdale and Healdsburg.
The list is expected to grow.
The snowpack in the Sierra is 12 percent of normal for this time of year, the lowest since the state began keeping snowpack records in 1960. California wildlife officials banned fishing in several rivers to protect salmon and steelhead trout.
The agricultural areas of California were brown and the Sierra had about 10% of its normal snow pack on January, 18, 2014
The drought threatens the survival of California's river going fish.
Dan Bacher explained how California's fish are in dire straits. Please read Dan's whole post for the story on how northern California's water supplies have been grossly mismanaged.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on January 29 announced that it has closed some waters, including Central Coast streams and a number of North Coast rivers, to fishing in order to protect native salmon and steelhead from low water flows in streams and rivers that have been significantly impacted by drought.
CDFW is also recommending that the Fish and Game Commission adopt emergency regulations on other rivers, including the lower American and Russian rivers.
"We fully understand the impact these closures will have on California anglers and the businesses related to fishing in California, and we really feel for them," said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. "However the science is clear. Two-thirds of the wettest part of winter is now behind us and conditions are looking increasingly grim. Under these extreme drought conditions, it is prudent to conserve and protect as many adult fish as possible to help ensure the future of fishing in California."
Drought is forecast to continue through the remainder of the wet season.
The Climate Prediction Center's 3 month forecast is for continued dry conditions across California and the southwest.
Extreme drought expanded in California in January.
"impacts within the D4 area include fallowing of land, wells running dry, municipalities considering drilling deeper wells, and little to no rangeland grasses for cattle to graze on, prompting significant livestock sell off."
Today's rains will pass by quickly helping the redwoods and vegetation, but not adding to water supplies. Most of the water will be taken up quickly by the dry ground.
Today's rains will be taken up by thirsty plants and parched earth. Rainfall amounts will be too low to add to water supplies.
Over the next week weather models predict the ridge in the jet stream that's taking west coast storms to Alaska to move towards Asia. This will allow storms to track into the Pacific northwest bringing much needed rain to Oregon and Washington. The present forecast keeps the rain north of San Francisco bay in California. This would help drought stricken areas like the Russian river valley and north Coast of California but would not help much with the Sierra snowpack.
There's hope for some drought relief in mid-February north of San Francisco bay.
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The CFS model, NOAA's long range application of it's GFS model forecasts solid rains north of San Francisco bay in mid-February.
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