"Given the odds, it makes sense to prepare for another dry year," the researchers wrote on the center's California Water Blog.Įmail Becky Oskin or follow her. Water years are divided into five types, ranging from critically dry to wet. In the Sacramento Valley - the state’s largest source of water supply - there’s a 29 percent chance that the 2014-2015 rainfall year will also be critically dry, and a 64 percent chance that it will be a combination of dry or critically dry, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, Center for Watershed Sciences. But most of California's winter rainfall occurs in Northern California's Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins, and an El Niño may not bring enough winter rain for the thirsty state to recover from the ongoing drought, water experts say. This Pacific Ocean climate phenomenon shifts global weather patterns, and often means heavier-than-normal winter rainfall in Southern California. While an El Niño offers hope of a wet year in Southern California, a moderate or weak event could mean another dry winter in 2014.įorecasters say there is an 80 percent chance of an El Niño developing by fall, but it's no slam-dunk. Fresno: 4.81 in (12.22 cm) 42 percent of average.San Diego: 5.06 in (12.85 cm) 49 percent of average.San Francisco: 12.54 in (31.85 cm) 53 percent of average.Sacramento: 10.35 in (26.29 cm) 51 percent of average.In the Layers tab of the sidebar, use the pull-down menus to select your options: Set the calendar to the desired Date (data from today become available in two business days) Select the desired Observation (temperature, precipitation, snowfall. 3) Set the DATE and TYPE of data you want. Los Angeles: 6.08 inches (15.44 cm) 41 percent of average 2) In the first window, click Daily Summary Observations.Here are some of the precipitation totals, as of June 29, from the National Weather Service. The same region received 3.15 inches (8 cm) from July 1, 2012, through June 29, 2013, which is 49 percent of normal for the water year. The city of Bakersfield, in California's farm-rich Central Valley, received 2.41 inches (6.12 centimeters) of rain, or 37 percent of normal precipitation through June 29, according to the National Weather Service. Many communities have ordered water-use restrictions, and farmers are feeling the effects of low water allocations from the state. The entire state is in severe drought conditions, with 77 percent in an extreme drought and 33 percent considered to be in an exceptional drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency for the state on Jan. This year is the third consecutive below-normal water year for California.
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