California in severe drought

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Rainfall since July 1 is less than 20% of normal in much of coastal California, including SF and LA.
Sierra snow pack is just 15% of normal.
San Francisco is the driest on record, dating back to 1849.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=233

[Ban my account ffs!]

A very persistent ridge of high pressure in the Gulf of Alaska so far this winter has ensured that storms get shunted north to Alaska instead of tracking towards the west coast of the lower 48.  They then dive down inland into the Rockies where they begin to organize and pick up moisture before ejecting out into the northern plains.

More recently a big ridge has set up right on the coastline, reducing even further the chances for rain in California.  The only hope is that this pattern changes completely, or that a southern branch of the jet stream can deliver some moisture to California.

Unfortunately the upcoming pattern doesn't look good for rain in the far west.

[pbrower2a]

California depends upon winter rains. If those fail, then the whole of California becomes desert or near-desert -- even the Sierra Nevada.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

It finally decided to rain!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Sierra snowpack down to 12% of normal.

Climate change predicts a drier California & southwest.

[Flake]

Sierra snowpack down to 12% of normal.

Climate change predicts a drier California & southwest.

On the bright side, look at the South, Midwest, and Northeast

[Tender Branson]

[bergie72]

Maybe they need to import some of the gays from England to make it rain.   It would probably make sense to this asshole...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-25793358

[Ban my account ffs!]

Sierra snowpack down to 12% of normal.

Climate change predicts a drier California & southwest.

"Climate change" (whatever entity you're referring to) predicted many things that didn't pan out.

The Southwest's temperature from 1895-2013 is below.  As you can see it was hardly consistent with a gradual build up of CO2.  Temperatures int he Southwestern U.S. instead reflect the modes of the Pacific Decadal and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillations, seeing a rapid cooling after a very warm late 19th century to a relatively cold 1910s/20s.

You see a cold period in the 1960s/early 70s as well... with warm periods in the 1890s, 1940s, 1950s, then rapid warming in the 80s and 90s.. with what appears to have been another peak in the early-mid 2000s and falling temps once again.

This jives with the PDO and also with solar activity.  The 1910s and 20s and also 1960s and early '70s were the periods of lowest solar activity in the 20th century with the highest levels in the late 80s to early 2000s and also the 1940s and 50s.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/107/00/tmp/12/12/1895-2013?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1901&lastbaseyear=2000&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1895&lasttrendyear=2013

And precipitation:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/107/00/pcp/12/12/1895-2013?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1901&lastbaseyear=2000&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1895&lasttrendyear=2013

You'll see that precipitation has increased minimally over the past 120 years in the southwest with the 80s and 90s being particularly wet due to an increased southern storm track.