544
AXUS76 KSGX 081544
DGTSGX
CAC059-065-071-073-312359-
DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
744 AM PST SUN JANUARY 8 2017
...EXTREME TO LOCALLY EXCEPTIONAL LONG-TERM DROUGHT CONDITIONS
CONTINUE OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA...
..SAN DIEGO...ORANGE...SAN BERNARDINO
AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES HAVE
BEEN DESIGNATED PRIMARY NATURAL DISASTER AREAS DUE TO THE DROUGHT...
...THE GOVERNOR ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER B-37-16 MAKING WATER
CONSERVATION A CALIFORNIA WAY OF LIFE...
SYNOPSIS...
PORTIONS OF SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA HAVE EXPERIENCED FIVE BELOW
AVERAGE RAINFALL SEASONS. THIS HAS RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT
REDUCTION IN RESERVOIR AND GROUNDWATER LEVELS. THESE CONDITIONS HAVE
PROMPTED AN EXTREME DROUGHT DEPICTION ON THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR
MAPS WITHIN ORANGE COUNTY...FAR WESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY...
RIVERSIDE COUNTY WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS...AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY WEST
OF THE DESERTS. MUCH OF ORANGE COUNTY HAS BEEN INCLUDED IN THE
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CATEGORY THAT COVERS THE CENTRAL COAST OF
CALIFORNIA. PORTIONS OF THE HIGH DESERT EAST OF THE APPLE VALLEY...
THE COACHELLA VALLEY... AND MUCH OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS
REMAIN IN THE SEVERE DROUGHT CATEGORY. THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR
CLASSIFIES DROUGHT INTO FIVE CATEGORIES OF INCREASING SEVERITY:
ABNORMALLY DRY (D0)...MODERATE DROUGHT (D1)...SEVERE DROUGHT
(D2)...EXTREME DROUGHT (D3)...AND EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4).
THE STATE REMAINS IN A DROUGHT EMERGENCY DECLARED BY GOVERNOR JERRY
BROWN IN JANUARY 2014. PLEASE NOTE THAT NEITHER NOAA OR THE NWS
DECLARES DROUGHTS. DROUGHTS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ARE DECLARED
BY THE GOVERNOR THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES AND THE STATE CLIMATOLOGIST.
HOWEVER...LOCAL OFFICIALS CAN DECLARE LOCAL DROUGHT OR WATER
EMERGENCIES AT TIMES WHEN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAS NOT DECLARED AN
OFFICIAL DROUGHT. LOCAL WATER PURVEYORS CAN ALSO IMPLEMENT VOLUNTARY
OR MANDATORY RESTRICTIONS ON WATER USAGE IN RESPONSE TO CURRENT OR
FORECAST WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS REGARDLESS OF DROUGHT DECLARATIONS.
THIS DROUGHT STATEMENT PROVIDES A SUMMARY OF PERTINENT INFORMATION TO
ENHANCE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF DROUGHT OR ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS.
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...
THE SECRETARIAL DISASTER DESIGNATION MAKES FARM OPERATORS ELIGIBLE TO
BE CONSIDERED FOR CERTAIN ASSISTANCE FROM THE FARM SERVICE AGENCY.
SURFACE STORAGE INCREASES...GROUNDWATER RESERVES ESTABLISHED OVER
THE PAST FEW YEARS...AND THE AVAILABILITY OF IMPORTED WATER...ARE
HELPING MUCH OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COPE WITH THE SHORTAGE.
HOWEVER...MOST DISTRICTS HAVE NOW IMPLEMENTED STAGE/LEVEL-ONE...
TWO...OR THREE MANDATORY OUTDOOR WATER USE RESTRICTIONS.
IN AUGUST 2016...SOME OF THESE RESTRICTIONS WERE LIFTED FOR A FEW
SAN DIEGO WATER DISTRICTS DUE TO AN INCREASE AND DIVERSIFICATION OF
WATER SUPPLY.
THE STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD APPROVED EMERGENCY
REGULATION TO ENSURE WATER AGENCIES AND THEIR CUSTOMERS INCREASE
WATER CONSERVATION IN URBAN SETTINGS OR FACE FINES OR OTHER
ENFORCEMENT. THE REGULATION IS INTENDED TO REDUCE OUTDOOR URBAN
WATER USE.
OTHER IMPACTS...
THE LACK OF RAINFALL AND RUNOFF HAS LOWERED THE FLOW IN AREA
RIVERS...RESULTING IN STRESSES ON INDIGENOUS VEGETATION AND
WILDLIFE. VERY LOW WATER LEVELS AFTER FOUR YEARS OF DROUGHT...HAVE
RESULTED IN POOR WATER QUALITY WITH HIGH BACTERIAL AND LOW OXYGEN
CONTENT IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. THE LOW FLOWS HAVE MADE THE RIVER
BOTTOMS MORE PRONE TO WILDFIRE AS WELL.
WATER LEVELS IN WELLS FED BY RAINFALL AND LOCAL RUNOFF ARE WELL
BELOW AVERAGE IN MANY AREAS...INCLUDING THE BUNKER HILL AQUIFER
BELOW THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS. MANY WELLS ACROSS THE REGION MAY
BE GOING DRY OR HAVE ALREADY DRIED UP. SALT WATER INTRUSIONS HAVE
BEEN REPORTED IN WELLS NEAR SEAL BEACH IN ORANGE COUNTY.
SEVERAL AREA RESERVOIRS ARE VERY LOW WHERE PURVEYORS HAVE NOT
AUGMENTED LEVELS WITH IMPORTED WATER...INCLUDING MORENA...BARRETT...
SUTHERLAND...AND EL CAPITAN IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
CLIMATE SUMMARY...
ORANGE COUNTY HAS BEEN ONE OF THE DRIEST AREAS IN OUR REGION OVER
THE PAST FEW YEARS...WHILE RAINS HAVE BEEN MORE GENEROUS FARTHER
SOUTH IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY...AND NORTHEAST ACROSS SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTY WHERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS ARE NOT AS SEVERE. IN GENERAL...
THERE IS A TWO YEAR PRECIPITATION DEFICIT SINCE JANUARY 2011 ACROSS
EXTREME SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA.
FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY...A SAMPLING OF CLIMATE STATIONS ACROSS THE
COUNTY INDICATES THAT OVER THE PAST 5 WINTERS...ONLY ABOUT 58
PERCENT OF THE 30-YEAR AVERAGE PRECIPITATION HAS FALLEN. THIS IS AN
INDICATION OF THE PERSISTENCE OF DROUGHT...AND THE ACCUMULATED
DEFICIT IN RAINFALL THAT MAY HAVE LONG TERM IMPACTS ON NATIVE
VEGETATION...WILDLIFE...AND RIVERINE ECOSYSTEMS.
..MONTHLY AND SEASONAL PRECIPITATION SUMMARY FOR SELECTED CITIES
DECEMBER 2016 SINCE OCTOBER 1 2016
REPORTED % OF NORMAL REPORTED % OF NORMAL
NEWPORT BEACH 2.82 213% 3.88 123%
TUSTIN 3.99 166% 6.28 146%
IDYLLWILD 6.86 184% 10.88 146%
RIVERSIDE 3.34 218% 5.26 187%
PALM SPRINGS 1.50 170% 1.79 97%
BIG BEAR LAKE 6.10 197% 9.64 168%
REDLANDS 3.89 196% 6.10 165%
VICTORVILLE 2.23 282% 2.78 173%
BORREGO SPRINGS 1.69 186% 1.83 127%
CAMPO 4.87 215% 6.17 146%
LAKE CUYAMACA 9.73 199% 13.88 128%
LINDBERGH FIELD 4.22 276% 4.90 158%
PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...
AS OF JANUARY 1 2917 A WEAK LA NINA CONDITION WAS PRESENT OVER THE
EQUATORIAL PACIFIC AND WAS TRENDING TO AN ENSO NEUTRAL CONDITION.
THE LATEST 30 DAY OUTLOOK FROM NOAAS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER FAVORS AVERAGE PRECIPITATION AND
TEMPERATURES THROUGH JANUARY. THE THREE MONTH WINTER OUTLOOK THROUGH
MARCH STILL FAVORS DRIER AND WARMER THAN AVERAGE CONDITIONS.
HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...NO SUSTAINED LARGER FLOWS CAN BE
EXPECTED IN THE RIVERS AND RESERVOIRS UNTIL THE NEXT BIG RAINFALL
EVENT...OR A PROLONGED STORMY PERIOD DEVELOPS ACROSS SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA.
THE LATEST U.S. SEASONAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK THROUGH MARCH CALLS FOR
DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE REGION TO PERSIST.
NEXT SCHEDULED ISSUANCE DATE...THE NEXT SCHEDULED DROUGHT INFORMATION
STATEMENT UPDATE WILL BE ISSUED ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 10TH.
RELATED WEBSITES...
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE USDA DISASTER DECLARATION SEE:
HTTP://DISASTER.FSA.USDA.GOV
GOVERNORS EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION: WWW.GOV.CA.GOV/NEWS.PHP?ID18368.
CAL OES DROUGHT PAGE: WWW.CALOES.CA.GOV/NEWSANDMEDIA/PAGES/CURRENT%
20NEWS%20AND%20EVENTS/DROUGHT.ASPX
CALIFORNIA DATA EXCHANGE CENTER: CDEC.WATER.CA.GOV/
CALIFORNIA NEVADA RIVER FORECAST CENTER: WWW.CNRFC.NOAA.GOV/
DROUGHT MONITOR: DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU
U.S. DROUGHT PORTAL: HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.GOV/DROUGHT/
CALIFORNIA DROUGHT PAGE: WATERSUPPLYCONDITIONS.WATER.CA.GOV/
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER: WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO: WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/SGX/
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER
DROUGHT MONITOR
NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
CALIFORNIA STATE CLIMATOLOGIST
US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SOUTHERN DISTRICT
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS...PLEASE REFER ALL QUESTIONS TO
W-SGX.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV.
JAD
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