Dry February sends California back to drought: 'This hasn't happened in 150 years' [View all]

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Dry February sends California back to drought: 'This hasn't happened in 150 years'

February is typically one of the wettest months in California, but the state is parched, and there’s no moisture in the forecasts

Susie Cagle
Fri 21 Feb 2020 11.00 GMT
Last modified on Fri 21 Feb 2020 11.14 GMT

San Francisco and Sacramento have not seen a drop of rain this February, and climate scientists are expecting that disturbing dry trend to hold, in what is typically one of the wettest months of the year for California.

“This hasn’t happened in 150 years or more,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. “There have even been a couple wildfires – which is definitely not something you typically hear about in the middle of winter.”

Combined with warmer than average temperatures, the state is parched, and there is no moisture in the forecasts. “The dryness has picked up as the season has gone on,” said Swain.

The year began with snowpack at 90% of its historical average. But less than two dry, warm months later, it’s hanging in at just 52% of average.

“Those numbers are going to continue to go down,” said Swain. “I would guess that the 1 March number is going to be less than 50%.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/21/california-drought-february-rain-snow-pack-sierra