A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 8, 2008
2. Supply
STATEWIDE SUPPLY ISSUES:
California storms feed water supply; Still no power for thousands - Associated Press
Big snowfall pads Sierra snowpack, water outlook - Associated Press
Thirsty region gets fill; Eye-pleasing snowfall to ease water shortfall -
Recent Rains Relieve a Parched Santa Clarita Valley - Santa Clarita Signal
Sierra snow depths increase thanks to weekend storms - Central Valley Business Times
Storm expected to clear out today; Parts of the Southland got more than a foot of rain. Thousands in Northern California wait for power to be restored - Los Angeles Times
Storms drop several inches of snow, rain; But drought isn't over, official says - Ventura County Star
STATEWIDE SUPPLY ISSUES:
Associated Press – 1/8/08
By Juliet Williams, staff writer
Before the storms, state hydrologists measured the snowpack on Thursday at around 61 percent of average for this time of year. By Monday, the snowpack was at 111 percent of normal, said Elissa Lynn, senior meteorologist with the state Department of Water Resources.
The Sierra snowpack acts as a massive frozen reservoir for the state, releasing water in spring and summer for cities and farmers.
The storms also brought some much needed rain to Southern California, where more than a foot of rain fell at Opids Camp in the
Rain and snow are in the forecast for later in the week, but “we're not expecting anything like last week,” said National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson.
About 100,000 homes and businesses in the northern and central parts of the state were still without power Monday.
In the snowy Sierra foothills, repair crews had to use snowshoes, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters to reach the most remote spots.
In all, more than 2 million customers from the
In the San Bernardino Mountains 75 miles east of Los Angeles, rescuers on foot and using snowmobiles and a helicopter searched Monday for a 62-year-old man who went hiking Friday just before the storm struck. Up to 3 feet of snow accumulated in the area, said
The storm was blamed in the deaths of a woman who drove onto a flooded road in
In
Doucette said the cause of death for the two men wasn't yet known, but friends at a nearby shelter told authorities they had advised the two to leave before the storms hit early Friday, and the men opted to stay behind.
Storms could hit the mountains near
“This looks more like a normal type of winter system” compared to last week's storm, which dropped up to 10 feet of snow in the
The area's highest elevation ski resort,
“We have 100 percent of the mountain open, we have great coverage now,” spokesman Daniel Pistoresi said Monday. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080107-1355-ca-californiastorms.html
Big snowfall pads Sierra snowpack, water outlook
Associated Press – 1/8/08
By Sandra Chereb, staff writer
"Right now we're good. Let's just hope it keeps on coming," said Gary Barbato, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in
The storm that brought waves of heavy snow and rain was among the biggest in the past 50 years, the weather service said. It dumped up to 11 feet of snow at some of the higher elevations in the
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Whether it was enough to end drought conditions remains to be seen, but it certainly helps, said Kelly Redmond, a climatologist with the
"This snow is money in the bank, basically,"
In the valleys of western
Some of the rain totals were records in themselves,
"In a typical year, the wettest day of the year brings about 13 percent of annual precipitation, less than an inch,"
When the calendar changed to 2008, the water equivalent in the
In the
The
"The snowpack more than doubled from that one series of storms," Barbato said.
But experts said storms -- big ones or little ones -- need to keep coming.
"Otherwise we're going to drop like a rock," and any gains of the past week will quickly be lost," Barbato said.
The immediate long-range forecast is iffy.
"We're kind of in the middle," he said, between predictions on whether the next three months will be wet or dry.
For
"After that it usually peters out in a hurry," Barbato said.
But
"We've had to coast, in effect, on early winter storms," he said. "It's not necessarily a given that the season will keep up."
The hefty snowpack and moisture levels are in sharp contrast to last year, when the winter was dry and the Sierra snowpack was dismal at best.
At the end of the last season, hydrologists said the snow depth along the 400-mile-long range was just 29 percent of normal, the lowest since 1988. The National Drought Monitor rated drought conditions in most of
The snowpack is important for cities and farmers on both sides of the mountain range that straddles the Nevada-California line, providing water during the dry summer months for crops and municipalities.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/08/news/state/15_17_051_7_08.txt
Thirsty region gets fill; Eye-pleasing snowfall to ease water shortfall
By Wendy Leung, staff writer
The weekend brought a hearty dose of rain across a valley desperate for a significant storm.
In some areas, this weekend's storm brought in more rain than fell all of last year, which was the driest year on record.
"The northern
There's a slight chance that light rain will return late Tuesday and Wednesday morning, but for the most part, those umbrellas can go back into closets.
"There's going to be a slow warming trend," Miller said. "I would bet by next Monday, we'll see some 80s in the
Drought conditions from a record-dry year made the recent rainfall a huge relief. Inland Empire Utilities Agency basins caught 1,500 acre-feet of water this weekend. One acre foot of water is about the amount two families of four use in a year, according to Sondra Elrod of IEUA.
"Even though it's raining outside, we wouldn't want people to stop conserving," Elrod said.
The storm was possibly the best news local ski resorts - which got more snow than predicted - could have asked for.
Mt. Baldy Ski Resort, which had been relying mostly on man-made powder, got 3 feet of fresh snow. Even its parking lot got 2 feet.
"We really needed that big shot in the arm," said Ron Elligson, vice president of the resort.
But the rain brought bad news, too.
A
Many others suffered flood damage. Joan Hellmann of
Farther north, at The Webb Schools'
Karen Bowman, spokeswoman for The Webb Schools, said the museum collection was unscathed and the Hall of Life on the upper level will remain open. #
Recent Rains Relieve a Parched Santa Clarita Valley
Santa Clarita Signal – 1/8/08
By Karen Elowitt, staff writer
Though heavy weekend rain played a role in carnage on the roadways, it was a boon to the area's water supply as more than four inches quenched the parched hills and reservoirs and eased the drought that has been plaguing the Santa Clarita Valley.
According to the National Weather Service, 4.84 inches of precipitation was measured at the Newhall weather station during the period from Friday morning through Monday at 10 a.m.
The downpours caused slick roads, which led to dozens of minor collisions and at least two fatalities Friday night.
One woman was killed when her vehicle hit the back of a fire engine on Highway 14 just south of
Though the rain got a later start than originally predicted, the amount that fell was right on par with what was expected.
"The onset of the storm was delayed," said Curt Kaplan, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. "We had less rain than expected on Friday, but more than we thought we would on Sunday, so it sort of evened out."
The weekend's deluge brings the rainfall total for the year to 6.06 inches, well in excess of the .85 inches received in 2007, the driest year for the Santa Clarita area since record-keeping began in 1877.
Skiers no doubt woke up happy Monday morning, as clear skies revealed snow-capped peaks in the distance. Several inches of white stuff fell on nearby mountains over the last three days, with snow levels reportedly coming down as low as 2,500 feet at times.
The rain was good news for the L.A. County Department of Public Works, which oversees the Val Verde Water District in the western part of the Santa Clarita Valley. Val Verde maintains various facilities that trap and store rainwater for later use.
A memo to the
"The spreading grounds take stormwater that would otherwise run off to the ocean, and route it to the underground water supply, saving it from waste," said Melinda Barrett, water conservation program manager for the L.A. County Waterworks Districts. "We're saving as much stormwater as possible to replenish the groundwater basin."
Though the majority of water used in the Santa Clarita Valley comes from Northern California Sierra Nevada runoff, about 40 percent is pumped from underground aquifers, natural reservoirs that store water as deep as 2,500 feet
below the earth's surface.
"Locally, the rain help is very beneficial and will help recharge the aquifers," said Dan Masnada, general manager of the Castaic Lake Water Agency. The agency owns one of the four retail agencies which supply the Santa Clarita area.
Despite intense preparation and planning, the much-feared mudslides never occurred.
Firefighters were somewhat surprised but relieved by the lack of activity.
"We were prepared, but thankfully nothing happened," said Art Marrujo, spokesman for the L.A. County Fire Department.
Though the worst of the rain is past, there is a still a little more to come before the region is able to dry out completely. A weak weather system will work its way though Southern
Thursday through Sunday should see clear, mostly sunny days, with highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s overnight. #
http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=52643&format=html
Sierra snow depths increase thanks to weekend storms
The weekend storms that rakes across the Central Valley slammed into the
As it melts during the spring, summer and fall, the Sierra snowpack becomes the primary source of water for most of the state’s 37 million residents.
As of Monday morning, a few readings put the water content of the snow pack higher than the average on April 1, the “official” end of the snow season.
At
The reading at Robbs Powerhouse is at 174 percent of April 1’s average.
Other readings within the
In the Mokelumne and
Further south, Tuolumne and
Mountain areas feeding the
And in the
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=7471
KFSN Channel 30 (
By Dale Yurong
Farmers say the storm helped irrigate their dry fields. Water officials agree the storm offered a good start. But we have a long way to go before we even begin to approach an average year.
Despite the soaking the Valley received Friant Dam remains at only 35-percent of capacity.
You can see just how low the water level is at
Tony Buelna, Bureau of Reclamation "In order to get back to normal for the whole year we need to produce about 42 inches of rain in the San Joaquin River Basin. So we're about 30 inches short of being at normal so what we need to have is another 6-7 good storms to get to average for the rest of the year."
The view from the dam though is encouraging. You can see the fresh snow in the mountains. Buelna says the snowpack is almost at average for this time of year.
"This is the kind of storm we need with the snowpack above the 2-3-thousand feet level."
While Friant Dam's in a holding pattern right now farmers hope with a few more storms they'll see normal water deliveries in the spring and summer.
Ryan Jacobsen, Fresno County Farm Bureau: "Definitely one storm's not gonna fix our long-term problems but it is definitely a good start. It's good to see the snowpack in the mountains. That's definitely a sigh of relief."
Jacobsen says farmers hope this was just the first in a series of storms over the next few months.
The bulk of our snowpack is built up during January, February and March.
Some citrus is being harvested right now. For the most part all the rain did was postpone picking for a few days. #
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=5871277
Storm expected to clear out today; Parts of the Southland got more than a foot of rain. Thousands in
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, staff writer
Weekend storms that dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of the Southland, prompting warnings of floods and mudslides, were expected to taper off this afternoon.
But elsewhere in California, nearly 102,000 customers were still without power at 10 a.m., mostly in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Sierra foothills, including El Dorado and Marysville, said Darlene Chiu, a Pacific Gas & Electric spokeswoman. More than 600 PG&E crews were working to restore service today, she said.
Since the storm began late last week, more than 2.2 million customers in
In Southern California, 330,856 customers lost power during the storm, according to Southern California Edison spokeswoman Mashi Nyssen, but by this morning only a few were still without electricity.
The storm, which forecasters are calling the biggest to hit the region in three years, had dumped 12.7 inches of rain on Opids Camp in the mountains of the Angeles National Forest and 8.6 inches at the San Gabriel Dam as of 7 a.m.
today, and about 2.2 inches on downtown
In
"It's been a beneficial storm. We haven't had much in the way of rock slides, mudslides" -- even in areas stripped bare by autumn wildfires, Miller said.
Voluntary evacuation orders remained in place for Modjeska, Williams and Harding canyons today.
The National Weather Service tracks rainfall for the year beginning July 1, Seto said, and so far
"Hopefully we'll see more of this, because we're still in what they would consider drought conditions," Seto said.
Rain is expected to taper off during the next 48 hours, with only a tenth of an inch expected today and another tenth of an inch Tuesday. #
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-weather8jan08,1,7871279.story?coll=la-headlines-california
Storms drop several inches of snow, rain; But drought isn't over, official says
By Adam Foxman, staff writer
The weekend storms gave
Despite the much-needed rain, however, the county still could face a drier-than-normal year, authorities said Monday.
Back-to-back storms dropped 2 to 6 inches of rain on most of the county between Friday afternoon and Monday morning, according to the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.
With 9.51 inches of rain, the Matilija Dam area north of Ojai was the soggiest place in the county.
From 6 to 12 inches of snow fell on
The rainfall lifted precipitation totals above seasonal normals for most of the county.
With 12.72 inches since the rain season began Oct. 1, the Casitas Dam area tops the list at nearly 163 percent of average rainfall for this time of year.
So far this year, 13.6 inches of rain have been recorded at Matilija Dam. A year ago, the dam's figure was just 1.4 inches, yet that was still one of the wettest totals at that point.
'Beneficial for the crops'
After one of the driest years on record, the storms were a boon for firefighters, said Capt. Barry Parker of the Ventura County Fire Department.
"This is going to make a dent in our extreme fire conditions," Parker said Monday. "We'll see new growth on our hillsides, which is good because we've had nothing but dead brush for two years now."
Farmers said the rain temporarily reduced the need for irrigation, washed salts from the soil and cleaned dust off crops.
"It was very beneficial for the crops," said David Schwabauer, a partner at Leavens Ranches, which grows lemons and avocados in
"One weekend does not make up for the driest year on record, but this past weekend's storms increased the Northern Sierra snowpack to more than normal," Bergh said. The snowpack, which supplies water for much of the state, was only about 75 percent of normal at the end of the 2006-07 water year.
Some people predicted a drier-than-normal winter this year in
"We are still in a drought situation. This may have brought us up to seasonal normals, but we are still a couple of years behind," said Dale Carnathan, a program administrator for the county sheriff's Office of Emergency Services. "We know that during a La Niña event, we typically get one good rainstorm. Hopefully, this was not the one good rainstorm for the La Niña."
The storms helped refill underground aquifers and other local water reserves, but a dry spell is on the horizon, said Scott Holder, a senior hydrologist for the Watershed Protection District. No major storms were forecast for this week.
The weekend storms caused small rock slides, traffic accidents, power outages and limited street flooding in the county. Carnathan said no serious problems were reported at La Conchita, where a landslide killed 10 people on Jan. 10, 2005.
Ready to flee
Mike Bell was among the La Conchita residents watching The Weather Channel and keeping a close eye on the weekend storms, ready to flee if necessary, he said.
"It's just what we do now," said
Carnathan said people shouldn't let their guard down. It can take time for water to percolate and weaken a hillside, he said. "We could still be at risk from land- and mudslides for several days, weeks, months." #
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jan/08/powder-heaven-storms-drop-several-inches-of-snow/
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