#sierra-nevada

#sierra-nevada

Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter.Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.Deadly spores lurk in the water and infect the skin of the creatures they touch.Spreading on contact and then invading the body, this fungal disease causes ulcers and peeling so severe skin comes off in sheets.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A soggy week in Southern California will end with sunny skies and warmer weather - but for how long?The latest forecast shows clearing conditions Thursday afternoon, with dry air and warmer temperatures moving into the area by the weekend.What happens next is not yet certain: Models show that yet another storm system could make its way down the center of the state beginning Monday, delivering showers and low-elevation snow to the mountains and interior areas, along with cooler temperatures across the Southland.

Heavy rain and mountain snow are returning to California on Tuesday, continuing a relentless weather pattern across the West that has proved dangerous, deadly and disruptive to millions of people in recent months.The latest powerful Pacific storm will move inland early Tuesday and linger through Wednesday, delivering rain over the Central California coast, the National Weather Service said.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Continued winds could help warm up the Southland Monday afternoon, forecasters say, but any hint of spring won't last long, with another "cold and vigorous" storm system expected to move into the region Tuesday, bringing rain, snow and more chilly temperatures.

Californians shouldn't put the rain gear away quite yet.March is expected to continue roaring like a lion beyond mid-month.Models are pointing to another potential atmospheric river in the first half of next week, forecasters say, the 12th of California's wet season.An upper-level low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska is expected to move over the West Coast, and there's a 60% chance that a plume of atmospheric river moisture could affect the California coast, the National Weather Service said.

Another powerful storm will hit California starting Monday night, compounding the effects residents have already felt from a similar storm that led to turbulent flooding last week and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles are calling the latest storm, which is expected to last through Wednesday, a significant atmospheric river event and are fairly confident that it will bring widespread, heavy rainfall.

After another winter storm pummeled Northern California this week with relentless rain and snow, blizzard conditions shuttered most major highways and roads in the Greater Lake Tahoe region and sent an avalanche crashing into an apartment building.A blizzard warning was issued for Monday through Wednesday morning for portions of the Sierra Nevada, including Interstate 80 and Highway 50, the two major east-west highways that connect Northern California and Nevada.

A powerful winter storm system will strengthen over the Pacific, bringing damaging winds, rain, and heavy mountain snow to an already soaked California beginning Monday night.Preceding storms have saturated soils which will result in trees coming down and the potential for more power outages, National Weather Service San Francisco meteorologist Roger Grass told CNN.

Ask a water expert if California's drought is finally done, and the answers sound something like this:
"Yes and no." "Kind of.""Depends what you mean by drought."The state has been deluged by storms this winter, hit by 12 atmospheric rivers that have led to evacuation orders, rising rivers and broken levees.

The most frequently burned watersheds in the Sierra Nevada (likely because they are remote and hard to access) have something in common: The fish seem to thrive with the fire.That was a striking finding from a study commissioned by Congress involving several research teams in the 1990s to evaluate the health of the Sierra Nevada.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A winter of epic snow and rain had brought California's "phantom lake" back to life - and threatened towns and farms in the process.Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, Tulare Lake was largely drained in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the rivers that fed it were dammed and diverted for agriculture.

Newsom Pledges Aid For Flooded Pajaro Community
Governor Newsom visits the flooded farm community of Pajaro in Monterey County and talks about how all the weather has been wearing people down.On the positive side, mandatory water restrictions were lifted for nearly 7 million people in Southern California.

Atmospheric rivers are hugely influential for California's weather and water supplies.They cause the state's heaviest rains and feed the biggest floods.They drive its cycles of dry and wet, famine and feast.But they also cause a large share of the state's levee breaches and debris flows.One atmospheric river can be enough to flood homes, down power lines and wash away hillsides and highways.

Federal wildlife officials on Wednesday announced a proposal to classify one of two dwindling California spotted owl populations as endangered after a lawsuit by conservation groups required the government to reassess a Trump administration decision not to protect the brown-and-white birds.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that California spotted owls that have their habitats in coastal and Southern California be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

After an incredible series of winter storms, California officials reported Friday the state's snowpack is the largest in decades.Snowpack in the California Sierra is 177% of normal for this time of year, officials at the Department of Water Resources said.Statewide, snowpack is averaging 190% compared to normal for the date a significant boost after back-to-back storms.

California water agencies that serve 27 million people will see an increased allocation of supplies from the state after a series of winter storms boosted reservoirs and snowpack, officials announced Thursday.Less than two months after the Department of Water Resources said it could give only 5% of requested supplies in 2023 to the 29 agencies that rely on the State Water Project, the department increased its allocation to 30%.

Lessons Learned From January's Storm The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is high, at levels typically not seen until late April and it's also double what it was at this time last year.The rain has gone a long way toward helping with drought conditions, but there are serious concerns about how much of the water we were able to store versus how much ran off into the ocean.

Tracy Barbutes, Freelance / Special to The Chronicle The onslaught of rain across California this week has pushed up the state's reservoir water storage levels up even more since the weekend, according to state data, though levels for most reservoirs are still below the historical average for this time of year.

A series of atmospheric river storms brought California heavy rains and an above-average snowpack across the Sierra Nevada, but experts say the state still needs many more storms to begin to emerge from drought.Snowpack across the Sierra Nevada now measures 174% of average for this time of year.But there are still three months left in the snow season, and the snow that has fallen to date remains just 64% of the April 1 average.