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By Phil Helsel
California is officially free from drought after more than seven years, drought controllers said Thursday.
The Golden State has experienced some form of drought for 376 consecutive weeks, tweeted the National Drought Mitigation Center of the University of Nebraska. This is the first time the state has been free from drought since December 20, 2011.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tweeted the weather conditions of 2017 helped, but a moderate drought persisted. Precipitation this winter has further eased the drought, although 7% of the state remains "unusually dry".
"This year's storms have really helped the snow tanks, the snow banks," said Jessica Blunden, a climatologist at NOAA's National Environmental Information Center. The colder temperatures also prevented the snow from melting, she said.
This winter – the meteorological winter starts on December 1 and ends at the end of February – is the wettest month in the United States since records began in 1895, with an average of 9.01 inches Across the country. 2.22 inches above the national average, said Blunden.
This rush has not only benefited California. "The winter has been great for the West," she said.
The US Drought Monitor website, which includes several agencies, including NOAA and the National Drought Control Center, indicates that precipitation well above that of the West has helped build a layer of snow and fill reservoirs, and that normal conditions returned to the Salton Sea in the southeastern part of the state.
The Los Angeles area experienced cool temperatures in winter, making it the fifth consecutive series of 41 consecutive days, with high temperatures below 70 degrees since records began in 1877. Rare snowfall was reported in parts of the Los Angeles area in February.
Nearly 18 inches – 17.99 – of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles from Oct. 1 to Thursday, more than 5 inches above normal, said Kristen Stewart, a weather forecaster at the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. Oxnard.
A "super bloom" of poppies has been reported in Lake Elsinore, southeast of Los Angeles, and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, northeast of San Diego, has Reported "superb wildflower displays" that could last until April due to cool weather and humidity.
Office of the National Meteorological Service in Sacramento tweeted on wednesday the wet months of February and March pushed water year numbers "well above average", with parts of the northern Sierras at 136% of normal, Sacramento at 126% of the normal and Redding at 120%.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency declaration in 2014 and, in 2015, ordered urban areas to reduce water consumption by 25%. A campaign also urged drivers to "get dirty against drought" and not wash their vehicles.
Brown lifted the drought emergency in much of California in 2017, warning that "the next drought may soon occur". He added that "conservation must remain a way of life".
Some parts of southern California remain "unusually dry because of the very dry years," the US Drought Monitor said on its website. San Diego County's reservoirs have a capacity of 65%, and Big Bear Lake was down 18 feet in early March, but levels are expected to rise, the weekly drought summary said.
Areas considered unusually dry were in the southern part of the state, including in Orange, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties, as well as in a small part of the northern part of the state. State, in Siskiyou County, along the Oregon border, according to Drought Monitor.
In December, 75% of California residents experienced a "moderate drought", against 47% in March, according to the same observer.
Conditions can change as quickly and become dry again, said Blunden.
"This is what happened last year: it was a rainy winter, there were beautiful flowers in the spring, then they dried very quickly," Blunden said. , adding: "Do not be complacent, because it can change quite quickly."
And about these decals "Head against the drought"?
"Keep it handy because you never know," she said.
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