Drought — Carquinez Strait and Delta, California

2021-04-01 to 2021-04-30 · Carquinez Strait and Delta, California

Event narrative

For the month of April, the U.S. Drought Monitor put all of zone 18 in extreme drought (D3). They also noted on this month's call the following impacts for the Sacramento Valley: low groundwater levels, dry stock pond, and poor range-land and pasture conditions. Some ranchers have even stated they've started selling or moving livestock. The Drought Monitor also started mentioning that they expect to see drought impacts expand into the summer, including but not limited too: agriculture, water supplies, recreation, and ecosystems. Additionally, the California Department of Water Resources decreased the water allocation to 5% on March 26th for the State Water Project.

Wider weather episode

Northern California typically experiences a wet season, October through May, and a dry season May through September. Last year's water year, October 2019 through September 2020, was one of the driest on records. This likely contributed to the U.S. Drought Monitor's decision to place portions of interior northern California into extreme drought on September 29, 2020. Portions of Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Glenn, Colusa, Yolo, Solano, Yuba, Nevada, and Sacramento counties remain in extreme drought. The rest of interior northern California was placed into severe drought (D2) on December 8; however, the state of California has not announced that these locations are in drought.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 955162. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.