SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a majority of California is now out of the extreme drought category — one silver lining to the series of winter storms that has been plaguing the state.
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Noah Diffenbaugh, Professor of Earth System Science at Stanford University and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, told KCBS Radio that the positive steps in California's drought come with a difficult trade-off.
"It is providing welcome relief for the drought. In part, our snow accumulation has been very healthy and the reservoirs are increasing around the state, including in the very large reservoirs that we depend on for much of our water supply," Diffenbaugh said. "Part of the contradiction is the closer we get to breaking a drought all in one year, the worse the process of flooding will be."
California is currently experiencing multiple severe impacts from the torrential rain, including flooding, mudslides, sinkholes and the loss of life. Most of the Bay Area is now in the moderate drought category, while much of the Central Valley, the Sierra Foothills and Southeastern California are considered to be in the severe drought category.
"We still have a ways to go," Diffenbaugh said. "Having most of the state in severe drought is still a real drought situation."
With more storms on the horizon, the professor said more of California could move from the severe drought category to the moderate, but it will hinge on where the storms end up delivering precipitation and how much of the water comes down as rain vs. snow.
"We've really lost out on a lot of precipitation in recent years. If you don't get paid for months on end and then you get a normal paycheck, or even a little bit extra, that still doesn't make up the deficit," he explained.
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