Californians no longer know what climate to indulge in. For the first time in years, more than half the state is out of drought thanks to bad weather that has accumulated in the Golden State since January. But residents are now being hit by record rainfall and condensed rain and snow “in places you don’t normally see it,” said climatologist Daniel Swain of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The Los Angeles River flows freely after torrential rains in the area, in Los Angeles, February 25, 2023. ALLISON DINNER / AFP
A surfer prepares to brave the hail on Redondo Beach, California, February 25, 2023. PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP
According to the latest survey from the University of Nebraska’s US Drought Monitor website, which publishes maps every Thursday, 17% of California’s territory is now fully drought-free, particularly in the Sierra Nevada mountains and along the coast. 34% are classified as ‘abnormal drought’, a category that precedes the official term for drought; Only 24% remain in severe drought conditions.
In mid-December 2022, drought conditions prevailed across the state, 84% of which were severe to exceptional. After three years of record drought, it was “an amazing improvement,” headlined the San Francisco Chronicle.
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In addition to the nine “atmospheric rivers” — ribbons of warm, moisture-saturated air — that swept across the state in January, rain and snow have been pouring in since February 22.
In the Lake Tahoe region, 300 km east of San Francisco, where ditches dug by residents that run between houses are up to 2.50 m high, the epic snowfall has continued almost without a break for several weeks. Access roads, including the busy highway into Nevada, were closed for several hours on February 28.
An avalanche 200 m wide and 25 m thick damaged a three-story building in Olympic Valley. On the same day, a record from 1960 was broken in Yosemite National Park: 1.01 m of fresh snow. This reached the first floor of the hut, which normally welcomes skiers. The park is closed indefinitely.
A mobile home threatens to fall into the Santa Clara River after a landslide in Castaic, California, February 25, 2023. ALLISON DINNER / AFP
Route 138 to Hesperia, California, Wednesday March 1, 2023. JAE C. HONG/AP
Mobilization of the National Guard
What began in Southern California as a welcome respite from the drought and a celebratory opportunity to snap spectacular photos and show kids the snow has turned into a nightmare for some.
In the San Bernardino Mountains, 130 km east of Los Angeles, several thousand residents have been stuck in their homes for several days and cannot clear their driveways, let alone drive. Roofs collapsed under the weight of snow. Escorts organized by the California Department of Transportation had to be canceled on Wednesday. Some residents of the village of Crestline (1,400 m above sea level) began to lack food and medicine. 1.95 m of snow fell in the region in one week. Local communities, who don’t have machines big enough, don’t know what to do with the snow.
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