Last year’s snow deluge in California, which quickly erased a two decade long megadrought, was essentially a once-in-a-lifetime rescue from above, a new study found.
It’s timing couldn’t be better. Last year’s snow came after a megadrought that started around the turn of the century and was one of the worst in more than 1,000 years. That drought is gone now. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, who wasn’t part of the study but specializes in weather in the U.S. West, said, “I would not be surprised if 2023 was the coldest, snowiest winter for the rest of my own lifetime in California.”
“California is no stranger to atmospheric rivers, but having so many was pretty bizarre,” Serreze said. “Maybe we are moving back to a wetter regime, but even if we are, there is simply not enough water go around any more. And as the climate warms, the snowpack will keep shrinking, making it harder and harder to manage the water resources.”
Her team focused on snow rather than all types of precipitation. That’s because a rainy winter doesn’t help bank as much water for California’s hot dry summers.