CA Drought: Dry January Could Cancel Rainfall Gains During Big Storms Of 2021
DAVIS (KPIX) -- The recent dry spell in the Bay Area is having a major impact on our water supply and could put us back where we started when it comes to the drought crises.
At the end of December, California took stock of a glorious month of rainfall on top of the October storm. It could have been fairly said the winter was off to a strong start. Now, on the first day of February, the state is one month closer to another year of drought.
"This year has really been a great example of how we can go from wet to dry very quickly, from month to month," says Jay Lund with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
With the storm door slammed shut for a month, October and December rains now amount to more of the same, and a possible third year of drought.
"So far, precipitation this year is almost, slightly less, then total precipitation for the first year of this drought in the year 2020," Lund says of the stalled water year.
While some places, like Marin, were able to restock relatively well with what has fallen, others are still struggling.
"Folsom, up near Sacramento, is doing fairly well," Lund says. "But Shasta is still fairly well below where it should be. This is a big concern."
"We want to see more snowpack, to fill the hole that multiple years of drought I have left in Lake Shasta," says Jennifer Allen with the Contra Costa Water District.
With Shasta still low and the snowpack dwindling, districts like Contra Costa Water are still very much in drought mode.
"We are calling on our customers to continue to conserve, and they're doing a great job," Allen says. "They're conserving quite a bit over their 2020 numbers."
The water year could still break either way. There was the Miracle March in 1991 which delivered three times the month's average rainfall. But that was an anomaly. And the clock is ticking.
"Well, something is going to happen," Lund laughs. "That's for sure. It's going to be wet or dry, or somewhere in between."