Will Rainstorms Help California’s Drought?

Will Rainstorms Help California’s Drought?

California has been hit with a series of powerful storms that began late last month. The storms have brought the state an extreme amount of rainfall. More than 17 people have died from the storms and over half of California's 58 counties have been declared disaster areas, the governor said. There are even more storms expected in the coming days.

California has also experienced a multi-year drought. The extreme dry period has severely¹ cut water supplies and forced officials to urge residents to save water.

Experts say the series of storms will help drought conditions, but it is not yet clear exactly how much.

However, the rain and snow will not be enough to fix some of California's long-term water problems that climate change is making worse.

Here is a look at how the storms will affect California's long struggle with drought:

Where is the rain helping²?

California has experienced six so-called atmospheric³ rivers in recent weeks. Atmospheric rivers are narrow areas in the atmosphere with a lot of moisture. Three more are expected, with the storms set to continue for at least another week, Governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.

The rain has come especially hard in central California, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. Rainfall is 138 percent higher than the average for this time of year, officials said. The storms have also brought snow to the Sierra Nevada Mountains along California's eastern border.

Most of the state's reservoirs remain below average for this time of year. But some have begun to fill, especially those close to the hard-hit Sacramento area and along parts of the Sierra Nevada. The reservoirs are important for supplying water to the Central Valley. That is an area of farmland that grows large amounts of fruits, nuts and grains. The reservoirs also supply water to millions of people living in coastal⁴ cities.

"What we've got so far puts us in good shape, probably for at least the next year," said Alan Haynes. He is a water expert with the California Nevada River Forecast Center.

Snowpack is its own type of reservoir. Snow saves moisture that hopefully melts slowly into reservoirs, supplying people with water during summer and fall. But now that snowpack often melts too quickly and reservoirs are not able to capture enough of it.

Where could the storms fall short?

It is still early in the winter and it is unclear what the next few months will bring. Last year, statewide snowpack around this time also looked hopeful. But a few warm, dry months followed. When snowpack was supposed to peak in early April, it was just 38 percent of the historic⁵ average.

Also, the storms have not dropped as much water on northern California. A reservoir at Lake Shasta that was at 55 percent of its historical average on December 25 had risen to 67 percent by January 9. It is better, but still well below historical averages, Haynes said.

The atmospheric rivers are not hitting everywhere. David Gochis is an expert in how water affects the weather at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. For some of the biggest reservoirs, it may take five or six large rainfall events to fill them, he said.

Many farmers in California pump water from underground. Some wells are running dry. It is something that is not going to be solved by a short-term series of storms, experts said.

And while there have been some wet years mixed in, California's drought has been going on for about 20 years. Climate change is creating drier, hotter conditions. Water evaporates⁷ faster. California officials predict there will be less water in the state's future.

Jeannie Jones is with the California Department of Water Resources. She said, "Big picture, this series of storms really is kind of just a drop in the bucket."

Words in This Story

drought — n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

reservoir — n. a usually artificial lake that is used to store a large supply of water for use in people's homes, in businesses, etc.

well — n. a deep hole made in the ground through which water can be removed

evaporate⁶ — v. to change from a liquid into a gas

 

drop in the bucket — idiom an amount that is so small that it does not make an important difference or have much effect

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

6 evaporate   

vi.蒸发，挥发，消失；vt.使蒸发，使挥发

参考例句：

• Clearly,the star wars problem was not going to evaporate.显然，星球大战问题并没有不了了之。
• It will evaporate like a spirit.它将来总要像幽灵一样化成云烟。

7 evaporates   

v.（使某物）蒸发掉( evaporate的第三人称单数 )；消失，不复存在；使脱水

参考例句：

• Heat evaporates water into steam. 水受热变成水蒸气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As the water evaporates, a crust of salt is left on the surface of the soil. 随着水分的蒸发，地面上留下了一层结晶盐。 来自辞典例句