Drought to persist or intensify
California is red on the most recent edition of the US Seasonal Drought Outlook, along with western Nevada, south Texas, Louisiana, central Oklahoma, central Washington, pockets of northern Montana and western faces of the Hawaiian islands.
Source: National Weather Service. To link to the US Seasonal Drought Outlook webpage, click on the map image.
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Officially dry
LOS ANGELES is poised today to record its fourth year in a row with below normal rainfall, reports the Los Angeles Times. From July 1 of last year to June 30—the period designated the “rain year”—only about 9 inches fell, compared with the average of just over 15 inches.
For the full story, click here.…
California, Nevada, Texas Red on Seasonal Drought Outlook
Issued June 4, 2009 by the National Weather Service
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High Good, Low Bad: Lake Mead Elevations
Source: US Bureau of Reclamation
HOPEFULLY there is more water than silt in the main Colorado River reservoir holding water supplies for California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. The maximum elevation for Lake Mead is 1,229 feet. Below, gleaned from US Bureau of Reclamation records, is the first of what will be monthly elevation reports for Lake Mead on this blog, with year on year contrasts going back to 2004. Above, for those who prefer pictures to numbers, also borrowed from Reclamation, is a nifty graphic published on Friday, May 8, 2009 showing April and May 2009 elevations, including predictions (in yellow) throughout the month.
April 30, 2009 1,101.26 ft
April 30, 2008 1,110.61 ft
April 30, 2007 1,120.69 ft
April 30, 2006 1,135.94 ft
April 30, 2005 1,144.45 ft
April 30, 2004 1,134.98 ft
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Turn off the sprinklers and put down the hose, unless you are fighting a fire
Highlights from March 31, 2009 testimony before the US Congress Natural Resources Committee by US Bureau of Reclamation Acting Commissioner J. William McDonald on Interior’s preparedness plan for dealing with California drought.
FIRE: “The Interior bureaus and our land management partners are preparing to deal with the potential for widespread and intense fires in California this year as a result of multiple successive years of drought.”
NATIONAL PARKS AND CAMPING: “Conservation measures will be put in place in parks where campground water supplies are expected to be limited, including several sites in Yosemite National Park.”
CENTRAL VALLEY: “As of March 30, Central Valley Project agricultural water service contractors north of the Delta will be allocated 5 percent, or 19 thousand acre-feet, of contract water supplies under their CVP contracts. CVP agricultural water service contractors south of the Delta will likely receive no allocation.”
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