Here’s how the storms will affect California’s long struggle with drought.
that’s depleted reservoirs, forced officials to plead with residents to conserve water and constrained supplies to vital farmland., with more expected in the coming days. The rain is soaking a state that desperately needs water, even as it takes a devastating human toll. Experts say it will help drought conditions, but it isn’t yet clear exactly how much.
The latest in a relentless string of California storms is swamping roads, battering coastlines with high surf, turning rivers into gushing flood zones and forcing the evacuation of thousands in towns with histories of deadly mudslides. So far, this is also one of the best years in decades for snowpack accumulation, according to state officials. Snowpack is its own type of reservoir, storing moisture that ideally melts slowly into reservoirs, supplying residents with water during the drier months of summer and fall. Besides rain, the storms have dumped snow that has contributed to snowpack totals that are more than double the average for this time of year.
The atmospheric rivers aren't striking everywhere. They move around “like a garden hose if you are spraying it across the yard," said David Gochis, an expert in how water affects the weather at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. David Novak, director of the National Weather’s Service’s Weather Prediction Center, says the atmospheric rivers still to come will likely be weaker. The problem is the already wet ground won’t be able to absorb much more water, creating problems with runoff. In about 10 days, weather patterns may shift and finally “turn off the spigot,” he said.
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