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What Does All This Rain Mean for California’s Drought?

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What Does All This Rain Mean for California’s Drought?


As you’re effectively conscious, California has had an especially moist winter, replete with extreme flooding, snowed-in mountain communities and a large snowpack accumulating within the Sierra Nevada.

So what does that imply for the state’s drought?

In January, after back-to-back atmospheric river storms, it was nonetheless largely unknown whether or not the downpours might reverse our drought, which started in 2020 and has stretched by means of the three driest years on file within the state.

On the time, many specialists mentioned that it might very seemingly take a number of moist months, and even a number of moist seasons, to finish the drought — and there was no telling whether or not the moist climate early within the season could be adopted by a dry spell, which is strictly what occurred final yr.

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However this winter has continued to deliver torrents of rain and snow by means of March, which has modified the drought outlook.

I labored with my colleagues Mira Rojanasakul and Nadja Popovich on a set of maps and charts that illustrates simply how massive of an impact these very moist months have had on the Golden State’s longer-term drought situations.

While you take a look at how a lot precipitation California acquired over the previous three years, excluding this winter, you’ll discover that just about all the state skilled ranges far under what’s regular, with regular outlined as the typical precipitation acquired between 1991 and 2020.

However whenever you embody this winter’s rain and snow, the image shifts: The precipitation that California acquired between December and mid-March has offset a lot of the shortfall that collected over the previous three years.

The rains have helped replenish reservoirs, a lot of which have shortly returned to their historic averages, or surpassed them. Snow has constructed up snowpack ranges statewide to the best they’ve been in a long time — greater than 3 times what they had been on the identical time in every of the final three years.

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That is undoubtedly a silver lining to our excessive climate of late. However specialists are nonetheless hesitant to say definitively that California’s drought is over, for various causes.

First, regardless that storms could briefly ease the dry situations, drought is prone to return comparatively quickly. California has lengthy cycled by means of spells of deluge and drought, partly due to pure local weather variability. However analysis suggests {that a} hotter local weather has supercharged the “whiplash” between these extremes.

Second, even an especially moist winter isn’t a magic bullet for the long-term water considerations within the state, which have been exacerbated by years of maximum aridity, rising temperatures and unsustainable water use.

California’s groundwater aquifers have big potential for storing water; they will maintain eight to 12 instances as a lot as all the state’s main reservoirs mixed. However, they’ve been badly depleted by a long time of heavy pumping, particularly within the agriculture-heavy Central Valley. Knowledge means that groundwater provides within the area decline precipitously throughout dry durations, recovering solely modestly throughout moist ones.

On the subject of replenishing these aquifers, the state has had bother capturing water from downpours and redirecting it to fields and sandy basins the place it could possibly seep underground, specialists say. Which means we nonetheless have a protracted technique to go in restoring our groundwater provides.

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Heavy influxes of rain and snow through the winter may have damaging repercussions later within the yr. The state’s record-level snowpack might imply extra flooding within the spring because the snow melts, particularly if a lot of the soil is already saturated with water and may’t take in far more of it.

And, as Alex Corridor, the director of the Heart for Local weather Science on the College of California, Los Angeles, identified to me, disputes over the dwindling Colorado River nonetheless loom. Seven western states, together with California, rely on the river for water, however these states have struggled to scale back their water use even because the river’s circulation has plummeted due to local weather change, drought and inhabitants progress.

Current rains are usually not practically sufficient to alleviate a disaster that has been a long time within the making, Corridor mentioned. “We would wish a number of years of fine and wholesome water inputs to get better.”

For extra:

Elena Shao is a local weather reporting fellow for The New York Occasions.

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Spiced purple lentils.


At this time’s tip comes from Mame Kell, who recommends a hike to Potato Chip Rock close to San Diego: “The hike to the rock isn’t something to jot down residence about, however standing on the potato chip is superb!”

Inform us about your favourite locations to go to in California. E mail your options to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing extra in upcoming editions of the e-newsletter.


In “Guardians of the Valley,” Dean King chronicles the friendship between the naturalist John Muir and the journalist Robert Underwood Johnson.


Beverly Bao Ngoc Pham and Brett Andrew Lynch met in March 2021 in Palm Springs, the place Pham was on trip with a pal. Lynch, 30, a primary lieutenant within the U.S. Marine Corps, was on task in Twentynine Palms on the time.

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“I’m fairly positive the very first thing I mentioned was, ‘I don’t date Marines,’” Pham recalled, laughing.

Pham graduated with a level in broadcast and digital journalism from the College of Southern California and now works as an editorial designer for Fox Sports activities. She grew up in Westminster in Orange County.

Lynch graduated from the College of San Diego with a level in economics. He started his profession in tv earlier than deciding to affix the Marine Corps at 27, impressed by his father, who served within the Navy.

Lynch mentioned he was shortly enamored with Pham.

“Simply speaking along with her that first night time, all the things was so easy,” he mentioned. “I knew I needed to not less than take her on a date.”

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Final yr, the couple obtained engaged. And a video of the engagement ceremony went viral.

Learn extra in The Occasions.



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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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