[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Items for 1/2/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

January 2, 2008

 

1.  Top Items

 

Rainfall season may get big boost - San Diego Union Tribune

 

Trio of gusty storms to offset dry 2007 - Stockton Record

 

 

Rainfall season may get big boost

San Diego Union Tribune – 1/2/08

By Robert Krier, staff writer

 

Halfway through the rainfall season, much of San Diego County is a bit drier than usual, but that could change by early next week.

 

A series of storms expected to bring heavy rain to Northern California and much-needed snow to the Sierra should begin to hit the southern end of the state late tomorrow. By Monday, San Diego could be above its usual rainfall total for early January. That hasn't happened this late in the season since 2005.

 

The storms, which forecasters say could bring 1 to 2 inches of rain to the county beaches and 4 to 5 inches in the mountains, will be welcome relief from the drought that has plagued the backcountry for the past two years.

 

“If it keeps raining, I think we'll be in pretty good shape. I'm hopeful,” said Shane Coles, a retired ranger and part-time volunteer at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in East County.

 

Coles said Lake Cuyamaca, which she can see from her home, is “looking pretty good,” though the water level is down slightly. Last year was the fourth-driest on record at the lake.

 

However, heavy rains could have a downside – mudflows and flash floods in areas burned by the October wildfires.

 

The National Weather Service will likely issue a flood watch today or tomorrow, forecaster Noel Isla said.

 

Wet weather would be a switch for Lindbergh Field, San Diego's official weather station. Since July, when the rainfall season began, each month has had below-average rainfall. But the season total of 2.19 inches on Jan. 1 was still more than the two previous years. If it rains an inch and half by Monday, this season's rain total would be above average.

 

Rainfall in the county's inland valleys since July 1 has been about normal.

 

In Campo, near the Mexican border, the past two months brought nearly average rainfall. Campo is coming off one of its driest years.

 

“Things are greening up on the hills,” said Arvilla Johnson, who reports weather conditions in town to the weather service. “Last year it was still pretty dry.”

 

Ramona, which gets an average of 4.41 inches of rain by Jan. 1, had 5.05 inches. Escondido and Oceanside Municipal Airport also had above-average rainfall.

 

Long-range forecasters had expected the winter to be drier than normal in Southern California and the Southwest because of La Niña conditions in the central Pacific Ocean. When sea-surface temperatures become markedly cooler than normal in a La Niña event, storm patterns usually shift. The Pacific Northwest generally gets abundant rainfall, and the southern tier of states gets shortchanged.

 

Up to this point in the season, La Niña effects have been fairly normal, said Jan Null, a private forecaster and former National Weather Service meteorologist. Most of California has had below-normal rainfall.

 

But in a small minority of La Niña years, he said, Southern California ends up wetter than normal. Even with heavy rain forecast this week, it would be too early to tell if that will be the case the rest of the season, Null said.

 

When winter began Dec. 21, automatic sensors in the Sierra Nevada, which provide most of the water used by Southern Californians, showed that the snowpack was higher than last year. But the snow level was still only 58 percent of normal, said Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources.

 

“Numbers this early are useful, but they're nothing to get excited about,” he said. “We still have several months of winter to go.”

 

The first official snow survey of the season, when water officials trudge through snow to gauge depth and water content, will be conducted tomorrow, Gehrke said. If storms forecast later this week deliver as expected, the Sierra snowpack could approach normal levels. #

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080102-9999-1m2rainyear.html

 

 

Trio of gusty storms to offset dry 2007

Stockton Record – 1/1/08

By Alex Breitler, staff writer

 

Stockton soaked up barely 8 inches of rain in 2007 - its driest year since 1989.

 

But as the calendar turns, so does the weather.

 

Three consecutive storms are expected to pummel California in the first week of 2008, forecasters said Monday.

 

From Thursday through Sunday, Stockton could see 2 to 3 inches of rain, along with wind gusts capable of taking down trees and power lines.

 

An impressive 5 to 10 feet of snow is expected in the mountains, the National Weather Service said.

 

"Everyone should keep their heads up," said Angus Barkhuff, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. "This is definitely going to be the strongest storm we've had this season."

 

That's great news for the state's water supply. Officials have said for months that consecutive dry years, combined with a recent court ruling curtailing water exports from the Delta, would probably trigger mandatory rationing in some areas. One weekend of wet won't make all the difference, but it helps.

 

Two to 3 inches of rain in Stockton would make this January among the wettest in the past decade, and after only several days.

 

Foothill areas could see even more rain, perhaps 4 to 7 inches, forecasters said.

 

In the Sierra, huge accumulations of snow are expected near the mountain passes with several feet possible even at lower elevations, including Lake Tahoe.

 

Going into this week, the snowpack is about 52 percent of normal, according to state Department of Water Resources data. Reservoirs, similarly, are carrying less water than at the same time last year.

 

Closer to home, clogged storm drains and flash flooding could be a concern in Stockton, but the rain should be spread out over several days, Barkhuff said.

 

Perhaps a greater issue will be wind gusts up to 40 mph and 60 mph in the Valley and mountains respectively, the weather service said in a warning issued Monday afternoon.

 

The wind could be comparable to a Dec. 12, 1995, storm that downed dozens of trees and limbs in Stockton and left 41,000 people without power in San Joaquin County, the weather service said.

 

At higher ground, blizzard conditions could render mountain highways impassable by the end of the weekend, forecasters said. Snow could fall as low as 3,000 feet.

 

Stockton's 8.12 inches of rain in 2007 made it the driest year since 1989, when there were three consecutive years under 9 inches. The city's driest year came in 1976, with a paltry 5.60 inches of rain. #

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/A_NEWS/801010307

####