570
AXUS76 KSTO 260405
DGTSTO
CAC003-005-007-009-011-017-021-035-057-061-063-067-077-089-091-
095-099-101-103-109-113-115-020415-
Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Sacramento CA
805 PM PST Wed Jan 25 2023
...MUCH OF INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REMAINS IN DROUGHT BUT
RAINFALL HAS BROUGHT IMPROVEMENT...
.SYNOPSIS AND IMPACTS...
The California Drought Monitor, released January 19, 2023 showed
improvement to severe drought (D2) and (D1) moderate for much of the
Sacramento Valley, delta and San Joaquin Valley, with
(D1)improvements over the Sierra Nevada. Most areas have improved by
two categories during the current water year. This is due to well
above average precipitation that has accumulated since December
2022. Sierra Nevada snowpack is around 220 percent of normal for
this time of year, per the latest snowpack survey conducted by the
California Department of Water Resources.
While well above average precipitation and near to below average
temperatures have occurred since December, the drought continues
across much of the Northern California interior at this time.
Precipitation deficits remain in much of the region, including
observed precipitation during 2022 compared to the annual average
precipitation, as well as precipitation for the last two to three
years.
The precipitation has led to much higher soil moisture levels and
greatly improved stream flows. Lastly, current water levels have
shown improvement due to recent increases in runoff, with most major
reservoirs at or above historical averages, however Shasta and New
Melones still lag below normal.
.
.CLIMATE SUMMARY (from October 1, 2022 until January 25, 2023)...
ACTUAL RAINFALL NORMAL RAINFALL % OF
NORMAL
----------------------------------------------------------------
Downtown Sacramento 18.22 9.35 191%
Redding 20.04 16.65 120%
Stockton 15.47 6.65 239%
Modesto 13.42 5.92 223%
Blue Canyon 50.25 29.56 170%
All of the above climate stations recorded well above normal
rainfall since December 2022. Precipitation deficits over the last
two to three years remain quite high over the Sierra Nevada, despite
the anomalously high precipitation during recent weeks. Thus, the
moderate (D1) to severe (D2) drought conditions continue.
.HYDROLOGICAL OUTLOOK...
The Climate Predictions Centers outlook for February-March-April
2023 shows an equal chance of above average or below average
precipitation. The temperature outlook shows a tilt in the odds
towards above average. For February-March-April (FMA) 2023, there is
an equal chance of above, below, or near average temperatures and
precipitation.
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center indicated that the cool phase of
ENSO, or La Nina, conditions continue over the equatorial regions of
the Pacific Ocean. Also, latest forecasts show that La Nina will
likely continue during the remainder of this month. ENSO neutral
conditions are likely to soon develop, or by the February-March-
April (FMA) period of 2023. A La Nina is characterized by below
average sea surface temperatures over the equatorial regions of the
central and eastern Pacific Ocean, while ENSO neutral conditions are
basically associated with near average sea surface temperatures in
these regions of the Pacific Ocean.
Monthly Drought Information Statements will resume if any location
returns to the D3 (Extreme Drought) classification.
.RELATED WEB SITES...
Additional information on current drought conditions may be found at
the following web addresses: US Drought Monitor:
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu US Drought Information System:
https://www.drought.gov NOAA Drought Page:
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Drought Northeast Regional
Climate Center: http://www.nrcc.cornell.edu New York State Climate
Office: http://nysc.eas.cornell.edu
Additional water and river information: NWS:
https://water.weather.gov OWP: https://water.noaa.gov US Geological
Survey (USGS): https://water.usgs.gov US Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE): https://www.usace.army.mil
.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...
The Drought Monitor is a multi-agency effort involving the National
Weather Service and National Centers for Environmental Information,
the USDA, state and regional center climatologists and the National
Drought Mitigation Center. Information for this statement has been
gathered from NWS and FAA observation sites, state cooperative
extension services, the USDA, USACE and USGS.
.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...
This will be the final monthly Drought Information Statement issued,
as our forecast area is no longer in a D3 (Extreme Drought) or D4
(Exceptional Drought) classification. Normally this statement is
updated on the third Thursday of the month, or more often as
conditions change, during episodes of D3 or D4.
&&
RELATED WEBSITES... California Data Exchange Center:
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/
California Nevada River Forecast Center:
http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/droughtInfo.php
U.S. Drought Monitor:
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.
aspx?CA
National Integrated Drought Information System:
https://www.drought.gov/states/california
California Department of Water Resources Drought Page:
https://water.ca.gov/Water-Basics/Drought
Climate Prediction Center: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/monitoring_and_data/
drought.shtml
National Center for Environmental Information:
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/
National Weather Service Sacramento: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sto/
National Weather Service California drought information resources:
https://www.weather.gov/safety/drought-ww Association of California
Water Agencies: http://www.acwa.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER DROUGHT MONITOR
CALIFORNIA NEVADA RIVER FORECAST CENTER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES CALIFORNIA STATE
CLIMATOLOGIST US BUREAU OF RECLAMATION CAL FIRE ASSOCIATION OF
CALIFORNIA WATER AGENCIES LOCAL COUNTIES AND CITIES
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS...PLEASE REFER ALL QUESTIONS TO W-
STO.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV.
$$
SHOEMAKER
$$
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