We are mid-way into March and those promised/threatened El Niño storms still have failed to flex in Southern California. While NorCal was pummeled over the weekend, Downtown LA saw just .03 inches of rain in this latest storm (maybe more cloud seeding is in order?), and rainfall totals are still well below normal for the water year (which started in October).
Graphic of rainfall departure from normal since Oct. 1, 2015. Coastal #SoCal below normal. #CAwx #LAweather pic.twitter.com/H13Os4VCbR
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) March 14, 2016
KPCC reports that "Places like San Francisco and Sacramento have seen more than 13 inches of rain since December. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has gotten less than 5.6 inches." And so NorCal reservoirs are actually filling up again in the middle of a years-long drought, while SoCal's are still far less than half full.
A Department of Water Resources rep says we'll know in April or May if California has started to pull out of the drought.
But it gets more depressing: now there's another heatwave on the way. A National Weather Service meteorologist tells the LA Daily News "We’re getting high pressure building over the area, so it’s going to warm up again...We’re talking temperatures in the mid-80s, and probably Wednesday will be the hottest day." That'll mean temps at their hottest about 15 degrees above normal for this time of year.
- NorCal reservoirs fill up while SoCal's lag behind [KPCC]
- Yes, that was rain, but the heat is on its way to Southern California [LADN]
- El Niño Gearing Up For 'Second Peak' in Southern California [Curbed LA]
- Take a Good Look at LA's Record-Breaking February Heatwave [Curbed LA]
- LA Shot Clouds With Iodide Particles to Make it Rain Over the Weekend [Curbed LA]
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