There's still a long ways to go before normalcy returns, but additional rounds of rain and mountain snow will continue to benefit California reservoirs this week.
It's going to take a lot more than one storm to erase the long-term drought across California, but the former bomb cyclone that marched into the West Coast sure did help. While another storm of that magnitude is not expected to slam into the West Coast this upcoming week, there will be multiple rounds of wet weather that will continue to trend things in the right direction.
Many of California's reservoirs were at historically low levels prior to the arrival of an atmospheric river of moisture between Oct. 24 and Oct. 25. For a short time, Lake Oroville's hydroelectric power plant had to cease operations due to the low water levels, but thanks to heavy rainfall across the Feather River watershed (the river system that flows into Lake Oroville), the power plant has since reopened.
Dry hillsides surround Lake Oroville on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. Lake levels continued to drop throughout the summer, falling to its current level at 28% capacity as of October 30, 2021 (AP Photo/Noah Berger).
The amount of water that rushed into Lake Oroville was staggering in the wake of the bomb cyclone, offering hope to some that the drought conditions may ease. Prior to the influx of rain, the lake level stood at 629 feet above sea level, but just 8 days later on Oct. 30, the lake level now stands at 659 feet -- a rise of 30 feet in just over a week.
Lake Tahoe also observed a massive influx of water from the recent stormy conditions. Earlier in October, lake levels had fallen below the natural rim, meaning that the lake was no longer connected to its only outlet, the Truckee River. Now, after heavy rain and feet of snow in the mountains, the lake levels have passed about an inch above the natural rim, allowing water to flow into the river.
There's still a long way to go however, as the lake is considered full when water levels are around 6 feet above the natural rim.
Many other lakes and reservoirs have seen impressive jumps in lake levels, including Folsom Lake which has jumped 19 feet higher, and Lake Shasta -- California's largest reservoir -- rose 3 feet after the deluge of rainfall.
Reservoir conditions across the state of California as of Oct. 30. Most reservoirs remain well-below their historical averages (California Department of Water Resources).
Although the recent rain has been great news for reservoir levels, there's still a very long way to go in order to ease drought and water-usage concerns. Luckily, this upcoming week will feature additional chances for rain and mountain snow along the West coast.
Monday will bring along the first round of rain and mountain snow to the West Coast as a storm will be set to trek inland. Appreciable rainfall will generally be limited to the San Francisco Bay Area and points north from this storm, leaving the remainder of Central and Southern California dry.
Wet weather will work its way inland throughout the day on Monday, expanding along the Interstate 5 corridor from Northern California up through Washington State. Along the route, cities like Medford, Eugene, Salem and Portland, Oregon, can expect a wet commute as the storm passes by.
Rainfall will not be nearly as heavy as the bomb cyclone a week or so ago, but a general 0.50 of an inch to perhaps up to 2 inches of rain can fall across the coastal ranges of Northern California by the time wet weather tapers off and shifts inland Tuesday morning.
A majority of the wet and wintry weather will shift into the Intermountain West by Tuesday, bringing along another fresh coating of snow for the mountainous terrain of the central Rockies.
Conditions may reach winter weather advisory criteria in places like Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Utah's Uinta Mountains and across the mountains of northern Colorado. Any hazardous conditions should remain rather brief in these places, as dry weather is expected Wednesday as an area of high pressure builds in.
It won't take long for another storm to target the West Coast this upcoming week, as another, potentially more potent disturbance is expected to roll in late Wednesday into Thursday.
This will likely target many of the same areas as the early-week storm, generally from Central California and points north.
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