Friday March 10, 2023
Courthouse News Service —
Once mired in drought, California now has too much of a good thing and has opened spillways on key reservoirs as the first of two atmospheric rivers made landfall Thursday afternoon.
The Golden State activated the Flood Operation Center ahead of the incoming storms, to notify officials of high water levels and support local flood relief efforts.
At a state Department of Water Resources briefing, climatologist Michael Anderson predicted two storms in the next six days, with at least an inch of rain expected in the Central and Sacramento valleys. The first storm brings warmer air so two to four inches of rain could fall on top of near record-breaking snow at higher elevations.
Anderson said scientists are researching the effects of the January storms on California’s drought.