Two weeks ago, the high reached 92 degrees — a surge in heat rare for early spring.
Now the Northern San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra will be pelted with rain and snow as part of a late season winter storm between today and Friday.
The National Weather Service is forecasting over the next three days between a half an inch to a full inch of rain in the greater Stockton-Modesto area as well as up to 18 inches of snow on the upper reaches of the Stanislaus and Tuolumne watersheds However, state water officials are emphasizing the system won’t do much of anything to diminish the reality that California is in its third critical drought year.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday released a draft of an emergency resolution to continue water curtailments adopted last year to preserve water storage in reservoirs, protect drinking water supplies, prevent salinity intrusion and minimize impacts to fisheries and the environment.
The National Weather Service expects moderate to heavy rain/snow today with the snow level dropping down to 5,000 to 6,500 feet.
The brunt of the storm hits late tonight and in the early hours Thursday with snow levels possible down as low as 4,500 feet. There will be a chance of Thursday afternoon thunderstorms and showers in the valley,
Friday will bring snow showers in the mountains that will gradually decrease throughout the day.
Conditions will turn to mild and cold on Saturday with a high of 74.
Temperature highs will return to 80 degrees by Sunday,
The deepening concerns
about state water supplies
Officials noted Tuesday that the first three months of 2022 were the driest on record in the Sierra. Statewide, California received less than half of its yearly average of rain and snow.
While only a small number of the more than 17,000 water rights in the Delta watershed are currently curtailed, diminished snowpack and hydrologic forecasts indicate that supplies will diminish in coming months and that all right holders – including those with older or riparian rights – should prepare accordingly.
While notices of water unavailability were first issued in May of 2021, curtailments did not become effective until the emergency regulation was adopted in August. This year, water users should expect curtailments to be imposed much sooner and to affect more senior right holders and claimants since supplies may be the most limited during the peak irrigation period of June and July.
State officials said without continued emergency measures, drinking water for 25 million individuals and irrigation supply for over three million acres of farmland could be further threatened.
The 1,153 square-mile Delta watershed also supports 80% of the state’s commercial salmon fisheries and is an important habitat for more than 750 animal and plant species, including waterfowl, birds of prey and threatened or endangered fish such as the Delta smelt, Chinook salmon and steelhead.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for 41 counties in May 2021, including those within the Delta, and outlined various actions the board and other agencies should consider, including curtailments when water is not available. The governor expanded the emergency declaration statewide on Oct. 19.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
