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Nearly Half Of California Out Of Drought Following Record Snow—But Years-Long Dry Spell Isn’t Over Yet

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Nearly Half Of California Out Of Drought Following Record Snow—But Years-Long Dry Spell Isn’t Over Yet


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Report snowfall within the Sierra Nevadas and floods within the San Francisco Bay Space have pulled almost half of California out of a years-long drought, in accordance with new knowledge launched Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor, although consultants warning the state’s drought is just not over but—and would possibly by no means be.

Key Info

Practically all of California’s Central Valley, in addition to coastal northern and central California and nearly all of the San Francisco Bay Space have emerged from drought, in accordance with a Drought Monitor map.

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Elements of northern California within the western foothills of the Sierra Nevadas and the Los Angeles and San Diego space, which had been in a state of “extreme” drought three months in the past, have been downgraded to “abnormally dry” situations, leaving the state’s northeast nook and the Mojave Desert because the final two vestiges of a “extreme” drought.

California has been slowly recovering from a three-year drought since December, when the complete state was in a drought, with greater than 45% going through “extreme” situations, 28% in “excessive” situations and seven% in “distinctive” situations on the time.

Shocking Truth

Practically 44.7% of the state had been faraway from a drought as of Tuesday, whereas lower than 9% was in a extreme drought. The final time that a lot of the state had been out of drought situations was February 2020. The whole state of California confronted drought situations between April 2021 and December 2022, in accordance with knowledge from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

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Large Quantity

17.3 million. That’s what number of California residents stay in areas nonetheless affected by the drought, in accordance with the Drought Monitor. Practically 20 million residents stay in areas out of drought.

Key Background

Beginning with a New Yr’s Eve storm that triggered widespread flooding within the San Francisco Bay space, California has been hammered by what meteorologists have dubbed a “relentless parade of cyclones,” bringing report rainfall to each northern and southern California, and inflicting energy outages, poor journey situations, downed timber and mudslides. Nearly all of the storms shaped as lengthy, slender bands of heavy rain known as “atmospheric rivers” which scientists say can carry as a lot water vapor as the common quantity of water flowing on the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Sierra Nevada mountains, in the meantime, have acquired greater than 55 toes of snow since October 1, in accordance with the College of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab, inflicting avalanches and almost burying buildings in larger elevations. The snow lab has now acquired roughly 220% of the common snowfall it sometimes receives.

Contra

Regardless of the heavy snowfall and up to date flooding, scientists nonetheless consider the state’s dry situations are removed from over. Central Sierra Snow Lab scientist Andrew Schwartz advised CNN earlier this month a “extended dry and heat interval” might depart the state in an unfavorable place within the drier months within the spring and summer season. Desert Analysis Institute scientist Dan McEvoy mentioned the latest precipitation “has made an enormous dent in bettering the drought and probably eliminating the water scarcity issues,” however that the total extent of the drought stays to be seen.

Information Peg

Officers in southern California on Wednesday lifted emergency water restrictions that had been imposed final 12 months on roughly 7 million residents, following enhancements in water ranges within the state’s water sources, although officers warned “important challenges stay” with the state’s different supply of water, the Colorado River. California had been a holdout earlier this 12 months when the six different southwest states that depend on the Colorado River drafted a plan to cut back water consumption from the river in response to the Biden Administration’s announcement final August that these states would wish to cut back water utilization from the river because the area’s two greatest aquifers—Lake Mead and Lake Powell—hit report low water ranges.

Additional Studying

Elements Of California Out Of Drought—However Consultants Nonetheless Warn Drought Situations Will Stay (Forbes)

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Elements of California Not Used to Snow Have Been Buried Underneath It for Weeks (Wall Avenue Journal)

Water restrictions lifted in Southern California amid wet winter (Washington Submit)



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California

What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz

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What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz


California has plenty of options when it comes to finding a place with your preferred weather. If you like cool weather, some cities spend nearly the entire year below 70 degrees. If you hate the rain, there are locations that average just a few inches per year.

The Chronicle gathered data about temperature, precipitation, air quality and extreme weather for 61 places across California, including the 20 most populous cities with data available. In total, 53 of the state’s 58 counties are represented in the analysis.

While there may not be a perfect match with everything you’re looking for, this quiz will help pinpoint a place that gets close.



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California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years

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California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years


A California woman died of rabies after allegedly being bitten by a bat in her classroom, according to Fresno County health officials.

The woman, later identified as Leah Seneng, 60, marks the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992.

“In general, rabies is a disease that affects the brain, and it is very rare. But when it develops, it can cause very serious consequences,” said Dr. Trnidad Solis, Fresno County Health Department’s deputy health officer. “It’s transmitted through saliva; it is not airborne.”

RABIES PATIENT BECOMES FIRST FATAL CASE IN US AFTER POST-EXPOSURE TREATMENT, REPORT SAYS

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Leah Seneng, 60, was the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992, according to county health officials. (GoFundMe)

Seneng, who was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, was bitten by the bat when she was attempting to rescue it in her classroom, local outlet ABC30 reported.

She first came into contact with the bat in October, but did not display symptoms until approximately a month later, according to Fresno County health officials.  She was admitted to the hospital and died four days later.

Bryant Middle School

Leah Seneng was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, California. (Map Quest)

PEANUT THE SQUIRREL EARMARKED FOR EUTHANASIA BEFORE BEING CONFISCATED AND WAS RABIES-FREE: REPORT

“The most frequent route of transmission is through the bite of an animal that has rabies. With rabies, unfortunately, there is no cure. So, when symptoms develop, there is no treatment, and often when it develops, it is often fatal. So we want the public to know that prevention is key to preventing rabies infection,” Solis said.

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Fresno County officials do not believe there is a threat to public health at this time, but are working with the Merced County Health Department to identify any other possible exposures and administer vaccines.

Rabies vaccination syringe held in gloved hand.

Health experts recommend people and pets get vaccinated for rabies. (iStock)

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Seneng’s coworkers have set up a GoFundMe account to assist her family during this time.



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Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu

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Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu


  • Two batches of raw milk from a trendy California brand have tested positive for bird flu this week.
  • Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among cattle in the US.
  • Experts say drinking raw milk is dangerous, and can cause food poisoning.

Another batch of raw milk just tested positive for bird flu in California.

Last Sunday, Fresno-based Raw Farm voluntarily recalled a first batch of cream top whole raw milk with a “best by” date of November 27. By Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that a second batch of Raw Farm cream top, with a “best by” date of December 7 had also tested positive for bird flu, based on retail sampling.

“We’re not making a big deal about it, because it’s not a big deal,” Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm’s vice president of marketing, said in a short video posted on YouTube after the farm’s first voluntary recall was announced earlier this week.

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She said there had only been an indication that there might be a “trace element of something possible,” emphasizing that there had been no reported illnesses of Raw Farms cows or positive tests from the cattle.

Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee later told the LA Times that the California Department of Food and Agriculture had requested that his company “hold delivery of further products” until Friday, after conducting thorough testing of two Raw Farms and one creamery on Wednesday. (McAfee could not immediately be reached for comment by Business Insider during the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Raw milk may be helping bird flu spread — but not in the way you might think


raw milk

Containers of Raw Farm raw milk on a shelf at Berkeley Bowl on November 25, 2024 in Berkeley, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Scientists suspect that cross-contamination of raw milk between animals may be one reason the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among cows in the US — and could even contribute to the human spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dairy workers might be able to contract bird flu by infected raw milk splashed into their eyes.

There is no definitive evidence yet that humans can get bird flu from drinking contaminated raw milk. Instead, health authorities generally recommend avoiding raw milk because of other serious health risks, including food poisoning with bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli, or Listeria.

There are no known health benefits of drinking raw milk. Instead, all evidence suggests that pasteurized milk is just as nutritious, and is safer to consume.

Still, raw milk has become a trendy product among some influencers. Gwenyth Paltrow says she has it in her coffee in the morning.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, says he wants the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its “war” against raw milk.

Over the summer, “Carnivore MD” Paul Saladino released a raw milk smoothie in partnership with the elite Los Angeles health foods store Erewhon featuring unpasteurized (raw) kefir from Raw Farms, and powdered beef organs.

California has some of the loosest rules around raw milk in the country; it’s generally fine for California retailers like health foods stores and grocers to sell it, raw milk products just can’t be transported across state lines, per FDA rules.


raw milk smoothie

Dr. Paul’s Raw Animal-Based Smoothie includes Raw Farm kefir milk, beef organ powder, as well as blueberries, honey, bananas and other ingredients. It’s $19.

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Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images



Michael Payne, a researcher at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security, told The Guardian that people consuming Dr. Paul’s $19 smoothie were “playing Russian roulette with their health,” and ignoring pasteurization, “the single most important food safety firewall in history.”

California dairy farms have been seeing an uptick in bird flu cases since August. The state has reported 29 confirmed human cases of bird flu, and all but one of those was sourced back to cows.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed case of bird flu in a California child from Alameda County. The child had no known contact with infected farm animals, but may have been exposed to wild birds, the California health department said in a statement.

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The child had mild symptoms and is recovering well after receiving antiviral drugs.





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