After dismal amounts of rain and snow last year, California is expected to have another dry winter. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) points out that drought conditions are projected to persist in parts of the West. A La Niña weather pattern is expected to appear for the third consecutive winter, again prompting warmer-than-average temperatures for the Southwest. “Drought conditions are now present across approximately 59% of the country, but parts of the Western U.S and southern Great Plains will continue to be the hardest hit this winter,” Chief of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center Operational Prediction Branch, Jon Gottschalck said in a news release.
The U.S. Drought Monitor notes that the states that appear to be most impacted by existing drought conditions are Oklahoma, Kansas, and California. The San Joaquin Valley is expected to be the most prominently affected area of California, particularly between Stanislaus and Kern counties. This area has been classified D4, as having exceptional drought conditions. The surrounding areas of the Central Valley up to the northern part of the state are considered to be experiencing extreme drought conditions, classified as D3. Nearly all but the most southern area of the state is classified D2, as having severe drought conditions.
The dry winter projection is expected to further exacerbate the drought conditions in California. A recent projection from the National Weather Service shows that at least half of California is expected to receive less-than-normal levels of rainfall. As much as a 40 percent chance that the area between roughly Madera County and Kern County will experience below-average precipitation. For San Bernardino County and below, the chance for below-average precipitation is as much as 50 percent. Temperature projections for December, January, and February are also forecasted to be above average for the majority of California.
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