446 AXUS76 KHNX 121635 DGTHNX CAC019-029-031-039-043-047-107-109-191645- Drought Information Statement National Weather Service Hanford CA 835 AM PST Thu Jan 12 2023 ...MUCH OF INLAND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA REMAINS IN DROUGHT BUT HAS SHOWN IMPROVEMENT... .SYNOPSIS AND IMPACTS... The California Drought Monitor, released January 12, 2023 showed the improvement to severe drought (D2) for much of the region, except a portion of the Sierra Nevada, or mainly Yosemite to Tulare County has improved to moderate drought (D1). Most areas also improved by one category during the previous week. This is due to well above average precipitation that has accumulated since December 27, 2022. Sierra Nevada snowpack in our portion of Central California is around 220 percent of normal for this time of year, per the latest snowpack survey conducted by the California Department of Water Resources. Otherwise, the desert portion of Kern County remains in D2 status. While well above average precipitation and near to below average temperatures have occurred since December, the drought continues across much of the central 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. Water allocations for many local farmers remain at zero percent. In addition, applications for grants for well drilling, purchasing tanks, and bottled water recipients continue to increase in much of the affected areas. The lack of precipitation has led to extremely dry soils, except for those areas that received above average precipitation since the summer. Lastly, current water levels have shown some improvement due to recent increases in runoff, but are still well below average for this time of year at most major reservoirs in our service area. .CLIMATE SUMMARY (from October 1, 2022 until January 11, 2023)... AIRPORT ACTUAL RAINFALL NORMAL RAINFALL % OF NORMAL ---------------------------------------------------------------- Merced 10.81 4.42 245% Madera 4.10 3.93 104% Hanford 6.06 3.09 196% Fresno 8.25 4.03 205% Bakersfield 3.53 2.33 152% All of the above climate stations at select airports in the San Joaquin Valley 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 January-February- March (JFM) 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. Questions and comments: Please refer all questions to w-hnx.webmaster@noaa.gov .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. $$ BSO/AB/BS |