美国国家公共电台 NPR--Despite historic amounts of rain and snow, California is still in a drought emergency

Despite historic amounts of rain and snow, California is still in a drought emergency

Transcript¹

California is experiencing record amounts of rain and snow, and there's more wet weather in this week's forecast. NPR's A Martinez talks to Hayley Smith of the Los Angeles Times.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

California is getting historic amounts of rain and snow this winter.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Parts of Southern California were turned into a winter wonderland over the weekend after a winter storm dumped several feet of snow. In addition to the snowfall in higher elevations³, the storm also brought several inches of rain to the area. And there's more wet weather in store this week, but the state remains⁴ under a drought emergency.

MART?NEZ: Hayley Smith covers drought and climate change for the LA Times.

Hayley, I took one look outside this weekend and decided⁵ to stay in and watch my wife bake bread. So tell us about the conditions and its impact on all the residents here in LA.

HAYLEY SMITH: So this was a low-pressure system that started in the Gulf⁶ of Alaska and kind of slowly carved a path down through California. And I would say it was somewhat of a novel storm in Northern California, but it was a historic storm here in Southern California. And that's for a few reasons. One, we saw a lot of record-setting precipitation, including really high rain rates. The weather station at the Burbank Airport measured 4.6 inches of rain on Friday, which wasn't just a record for the day, but it was actually its fifth-wettest day ever.

But even more than the rain, what made this storm so historic was the snow. We were seeing snow at elevations as low as 1,500 or even a thousand feet, which is exceptionally low. For reference, the Hollywood sign is at an elevation² of about 1,500 feet, and there were flurries there. And some people even made snowballs. The downside of all that is that hundreds of thousands of people are still without power. We've seen downed trees, rockslides, debris⁷ flows, a number of dangerous water rescues. So the storm did do some damage.

MART?NEZ: Drought, though. Here's the thing. California has been in a drought seemingly forever. So how much of an impact is all of this doing on that?

SMITH: That is definitely a question on everyone's mind. Our reservoirs are notably⁸ fuller, and we've had record snowpack. We're at 173% of normal snowpack statewide right now. However, California's water supply does not only come from surface water. Groundwater didn't really benefit much from these storms, and neither did the Colorado River, which is a huge part of Southern California's water supply. So at this point, most experts and officials are saying it would still be premature⁹ to declare the drought over. But we are in much better shape than we were two months ago.

MART?NEZ: OK. Now, more rain and snow is in the forecast for this week. I saw a lot of people stuck in flooding on the streets of LA and in other parts of California, too. So what should Californians prepare for?

SMITH: It should be weaker than what we saw this past week, but we still would advise people prepare for potential power outages and the hazards that I mentioned earlier and, of course, you know, not drive in standing¹⁰ water; learn how to turn on your windshield wipers, and probably avoid mountain passes that are still stuck and snowed out.

MART?NEZ: Hayley Smith covers drought and climate change for the LA Times.

Hayley, thanks.

SMITH: Thanks so much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

3 elevations   

（水平或数量）提高( elevation的名词复数 )； 高地； 海拔； 提升

参考例句：

• Weight of the crust changes as elevations are eroded and materials are deposited elsewhere. 当高地受到侵蚀，物质沉积到别的地方时，地壳的重量就改变。
• All deck elevations are on the top of structural beams. 所有甲板标高线均指结构梁顶线。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

8 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

9 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。