California reservoir water levels in trouble after unusually dry January

California requires “several more storms” to make up for an unusually dry January that has plagued the southern half of the state, according to State Climatologist Michael Anderson.

Why It Matters

So far, Southern California has seen an extremely dry start to the water year. San Diego, for example, had its driest start to the year on record. Other cities, like Los Angeles, were around 6 inches below their average precipitation amounts for this time of year.

The bout of dry weather has contributed to the devastating wildfires that ignited across the Los Angeles region, and it could have other, long-standing impacts if more storms don’t arrive before winter ends.

What To Know

As of Monday, most of California’s major reservoirs are performing above average for this time of year. However, most water levels begin to rise in the spring as snow melts at higher elevations and feeds the reservoirs.

Given the below-average snowpack in the southern Sierra Nevada, concerns are rising that the reservoirs will suffer when spring arrives.

As of Monday, the snowpack in the northern Sierra Nevada is 91 percent of normal. It is 61 percent of normal for the central Sierra Nevada and only 45 percent of normal for the southern Sierra Nevada.

An abnormally wet winter season in 2023 helped supplement most reservoirs in the Golden State, but more snow needs to fall for the reservoirs to remain in a healthy state as warmer temperatures and seasonally dry weather arrive later this year.

A winter storm brought several inches of snow to high-elevation areas across Southern California this past weekend and rain to lower-elevation areas. However, experts say that more storms are needed to remedy the deficit in this unusually dry January.

What People Are Saying

State Climatologist Michael Anderson told Newsweek: “While the storm system currently moving across Southern California is beneficial to reduce some wildfire danger, it will not significantly impact the regional precipitation deficit caused by a dry January. The dry conditions have been experienced across the state in January, and that has impacted our statewide snowpack.”

Anderson added: “Traditionally, December through February are the biggest precipitation months for California, and losing out on precipitation for the month of January has put a significant dent in our water year so far, and it will take several more storms to make up for that deficit.”

What Happens Next

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Stephen McCoy, who works for the Hanford, California, office, told Newsweek that for the next five days, his forecast region isn’t expecting “too much precipitation,” meaning the region’s snowpack will likely remain below normal for now.

Another winter storm system could bring more snow to the area this weekend, though the amounts aren’t looking to be very high.

However, the eight- to 14-day precipitation outlook published by the NWS Climate Prediction Center anticipates that nearly all of the state, including most of Southern California, will have above-normal precipitation over the next two weeks.