The Current Drought in California

By: Ben Strause

Inspiration

When I went home to California for spring

break the first thing I did was hike over to
Folsom ake! a lake about "# miles east of
Sa$ramento and where I spent a good ma%ority
of my $hildhood& When I turned the $orner
where Folsom lake first be$omes visible! my
%aw dropped! It looked nearly empty' The shore
was about a football field length from where it
usually was and all you $ould see was mostly
sand! it was a depressing sight& What had
happened( Then it hit me! I remembered
California had been e)perien$ing a drought! in
reality it was one of the worst droughts they
have ever had& So I wanted to know what has
been $ausing it! what have been the effe$ts in
the area and will it $ontinue(
This was the first pi$ture I took when I first $ame up to Folsomake
*ore +hotos I Took of Folsom ake
Folsom ,ainfall Seasons Sin$e "-.-
/verage: .0&#"
2
0
1
0
-
2
0
1
1
2
0
1
1
-
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
-
2
0
1
3
2
0
1
3
-
2
0
1
4
0
5
1
0
1
5
2
0
2
5
Series 1
Rainfall Analyzed

As you can see from the previous slide. he !olsom area"s rainfall the past
3 years has #een very $ell #elo$ avera%e& $ith this season thus far #ein%
the driest.

'n (anuary 2014& !olsom )a*e dropped to an alarmin% 1+, of its total
capacity

'n effect -alifornia has had to mandate stricter $ays to save $ater and
.overnor /ro$n issued a state of emer%ency for drou%ht in the state of
-alifornia.
Sno$pac* pro#lem 'n the Sierras

A lot of the $ater the Sacramento valley relies on comes from the )a*e ahoe0
Sierra 1evada re%ion sno$pac*

'n the Sierras the past three years& they have received rou%hly 20, of the
sno$pac* compared to the avera%e. 2ithout the sno$pac* fire dan%er increases
su#stantially and this upcomin% season is slated to have the $orst conditions yet.
3ere is a photo of the )a*e ahoe0Reno re%ion in (an. 2014.
As you can see& e4cept for the hi%hest elevations& there is no
sno$pac*
What has been happening(

/$$ording the Stanford S$ientist! The reason for the drought is a very stubborn
high pressure ridge over the eastern +a$ifi$ o$ean they dubbed the 1ridi$ulously
resilient ridge2 or 1,,,2&

The ridge is troubling be$ause unlike other ridges! the 1,,,2 has stayed
persistent for over a year and has diverted atmospheri$ wind to push storms either
north or south of the ridge $ausing a very long dry spell&

1It is not unusual for droughts but it in this situation it is unusual for the water to
%ust shut off23 +rofessor Daniel Swain at Stanford 4niversity
5)ample Shown of the 6,idi$ulously ,esilient ,idge2
Could Climate Change also be
$ontributing to the drought(

Althou%h drou%hts are common $orld$ide& a one of this nature and creation is rare and has
rarely #een recorded in human history.

As $e discussed in -hapter 5& 'f -limate -han%e is #ehind it& it $ould %o $ith other findin%s
that %lo#al $armin% is increasin% the ris* of e4treme events and possi#ly this could #e a
reoccurrin% event in the upcomin% years.

he ne$ trend of hi%h pressure systems on the 6acific sho$ a chan%e in the direction of the
7et stream and as recent years have sho$n& a chan%e in precipitation patterns on the $est
coast.

'f so& -alifornia $ill have to find a ne$ $ay to mana%e its $ater and other resources and
prepare for e4treme events li*e this for the future.
Works Cited

http800$$$.sacflood.or%

http800
ne$s.stanford.edu0ne$s020140fe#ruary0drou%ht-climate-chan%e-022+14.html

http800$$$.climate.%ov

http800
$$$.#usinessinsider.com0folsom-dam-illustrates-california-drou%ht-2014-2

http800
$$$.climate.%ov0ne$s-features0event-trac*er0california-facin%-$orst-drou%ht-record