DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Wildfires are increasingly burning California’s snowy landscapes and colliding with winter droughts to shrink California’s snowpack Desert Research Institute HydrologyWildfires and watersheds February 1, 2023A new study shows that midwinter dry spells lead to dramatic losses of winter snowpack in burned areas By the...
CAL MATTERS: Is California’s drought over? Here’s what you need to know about rain, snow, reservoirs and drought Cal Matters Current Conditions January 12, 2023A dozen days of wet and wild weather haven’t ended the drought, and won’t cure the driest period in the...
DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Spring sunny heat waves caused record snowmelt in 2021, adding to severe water supply impacts across the Western US Desert Research Institute Hydrology January 5, 2023A new study highlights how persistent high pressure in April 2021 drove widespread rapid snow loss From the Desert Research...
DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Study develops framework for forecasting contribution of snowpack to flood risk during winter storms Desert Research Institute Planning and management May 3, 2022New research advances effort to create a decision-support tool for reservoir operators and flood managers From the Desert Research Institute:...
CAL MATTERS: No, California’s drought isn’t over. Here’s why. Cal Matters Current ConditionsPolicy and regulation January 5, 2022California today issued emergency drought rules aimed at wasteful water use. Although snowpack is 150% of average today, climatologists predict...
THE CONVERSATION: California’s water supplies are in trouble as climate change worsens natural dry spells, especially in the Sierra Nevada The Conversation Climate change December 7, 2021By Roger Bales, University of California, Merced California is preparing for a third straight year of drought, and officials are...
BERKELEY LAB: Managing water resources in a low-to-no-snow future Berkeley Lab Science October 26, 2021With mountain snowpacks shrinking in the western U.S., new Berkeley Lab study analyzes when a low-to-no-snow future might arrive and...
EOS: The Changing Climate’s Snowball Effect American Geophysical Union Climate change September 24, 2021Shrinking snowpack, thawing permafrost, and shifting precipitation patterns have widespread consequences. Can new technologies—and public policies—help communities adapt? by Korena...
COURTHOUSE NEWS: Loss of Reflective Snowpack Causing Colorado River to Dwindle Courthouse News Service Colorado River February 20, 2020Water is evaporating from the Colorado River Basin faster than rainfall can replenish it, researchers said in a study published...
BERKELEY LAB: How California wildfires can impact water availability Berkeley Lab Groundwater NewsWildfires and watersheds September 4, 2019New Berkeley Lab study uses supercomputers to analyze hydrological changes in a California watershed following a wildfire. By Julie Chao,...
CA WATER COMMISSION: Governor Newsom’s Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative Listening Session Maven Notebook News and FeaturesPlanning and managementPolicy and regulation June 26, 2019On April 29, 2019, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-10-19 that directed the secretaries of the California Natural Resources Agency,...
DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Forest fires accelerating snowmelt across western U.S., new study finds Desert Research Institute HydrologyWildfires and watersheds May 2, 2019From the Desert Research Institute: Forest fires are causing snow to melt earlier in the season, a trend occurring across...
DR. JEFF MOUNT: Making groundwater a centerpiece of managing the droughts of the future Maven Best of the NotebookGroundwater NewsNotebook News and FeaturesPlanning and management October 24, 2018Four essential policy reforms are needed to reduce the social, economic, and environmental costs of future droughts, says Dr. Mount...
NASA: Dust on snow controls springtime river rise in West NASA/JPL Colorado RiverHydrology January 23, 2018By Carol Rasmussen, NASA’s Earth Science News Team A new study has found that dust, not spring warmth, controls the...
NASA/JPL: Sierras lost water weight, grew taller during drought NASA/JPL Hydrology December 13, 2017Loss of water from Sierra Nevada rocks caused the California mountains to rise almost an inch during the recent drought....
