The great Colorado river has so much of its water extracted that it usually runs dry long before reaching the ocean.

Might be different this year. A month of frequent heavy rain here in San Diego. I’ve never seen the like of it. If the mountains are getting that rain too…

we are doing our part here in Utah. Wet fall and long snowy winter. Should be a fair amount of water that makes it to the river.

Since the Colorado River's last 75 miles is in Mexico, it is managed by this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...and_Water_Commission

The water returning to the river from irrigation, picks up salt, and there is a desalination plant in Yuma so the water leaving the US is adequate for farming.

According to the Central Sierra Snow Lab, this winter season has been the snowiest, and coldest, since 1952!

The link is to a report from Don Day, Wyoming NWS Meteorologist. His reports are outstanding and I’ve come to depend upon them. If the prediction models are unclear, that’s what he tells us. I said he’s a Wyoming based meteorologist, and he is, but this report covers the entire West. If you are a skier or snowmobiler, take heed of his warnings about the high potential for avalanche.

Forecast, March 1, 2023

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
According to the Central Sierra Snow Lab, this winter season has been the snowiest, and coldest, since 1952!

The link is to a report from Don Day, Wyoming NWS Meteorologist. His reports are outstanding and I’ve come to depend upon them. If the prediction models are unclear, that’s what he tells us. I said he’s a Wyoming based meteorologist, and he is, but this report covers the entire West. If you are a skier or snowmobiler, take heed of his warnings about the high potential for avalanche.

Forecast, March 1, 2023

If the snow melt coincides with lots of rain, it causes flooding and destruction along waterways draining the mountains. I saw the results of that between Estes Park and Loveland Colorado about 10 years ago.

San Diego? That's cheating, that is - the only farming in San Diego is illegal grows in the garage.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
The link is to a report from Don Day, Wyoming NWS Meteorologist. His reports are outstanding and I’ve come to depend upon them.

Is there a way to subscribe to only his weather reports?

With Lake Powell and Lake Meade below 25%, I doubt much water will be getting to the ocean. If water does get to the ocean, it should be a crime.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
The link is to a report from Don Day, Wyoming NWS Meteorologist. His reports are outstanding and I’ve come to depend upon them.

Is there a way to subscribe to only his weather reports?

Not sure about that, henry, I just follow Cowboy State Daily on FB. I don’t always catch his reports because of that. He IS good though.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
With Lake Powell and Lake Meade below 25%, I doubt much water will be getting to the ocean. If water does get to the ocean, it should be a crime.

As opposed to the crime of overbuilding an unsustainable population concentration and infrastructure out of greed.

Pics show how California storms have refilled reservoirs

“Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during the depth of California's drought that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake.

But those scenes are no more after a series of powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across California, replenishing reservoirs and bringing an end — mostly — to the state's three-year drought.

Now, 12 of California's 17 major reservoirs are filled above their historical averages for the start of spring. …”

And the huge snow pack hasn’t begun melting.

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/11948365

Have the reservoirs refilled enough that they are accepting fresh corpses?

^^^ I'm sorry, but that made me chuckle.

The reservoirs may have been refilled, but there are not enough of them to contain the amount of water that will be available. California needs many more reservoirs to contain water, and the infrastructure needs to be improved to direct the water to them instead of causing floods and mudslides.

flashguy

Long dead Cali lake comes back to life due to huge storms

“A ghost lake that vanished decades ago in California's central valley has come back to life with a vengeance after torrents of rain resuscitated the body of water and drowned thousands of acres of farmland.

Tulure Lake, located in the Central Valley of California, was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River - but rivers that fed into the system that were dammed in order to be diverted for irrigation and other uses by the 1920s - left the area dry.

In decades since, communities and farms growing vegetables, cotton and grazing cattle began to occupy the dry lakebed – one such community is Corcoran in Kings County.

Known as the farming capital of California, Corcoran now faces having its farms, residents and even a local prison being flooded by rising waters in the low-lying land.

It comes as a massive snowpack that piled up on the Sierra Nevada over the winter threatens more flooding potentially tripling floods by summer and threatening communities and could cost billions in losses. …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/11977657

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
San Diego? That's cheating, that is - the only farming in San Diego is illegal grows in the garage.

Lol. Well there’s Chino Farm. They’re actually at Rancho Santa Fe. 45 acres of incredible fruits and vegetables. $$$$$ and totally worth every penny. Every time I visit family in Sandy Eggo this place is a must. Best tastiest you can find anywhere. Google “The Vegetable Shop at Chino Farm”.
.

Water that would ultimately end up in the Colorado is oddly enough ends up as the head waters of the North Fork of the South Platte River. The Roberts Tunnel diverts water from Dillion Reservoir on the western slope.

https://www.denverwater.org/ta...nd-juice?size=n_21_n

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
... California needs many more reservoirs to contain water...

Yeah, but will the tree huggers allow any new construction?

First two photos show the startling difference.

“Incredible pictures show California's Lake Oroville full of water following a crippling drought that left it at a critically low level.

The images provide a comparison between the reservoir in July 2021 and June 2023 - when it was filled completely for the first time since 2012.

Oroville's water levels dipped to their lowest ever in late 2021, at just over 628 feet, or 24 percent capacity. Now, however, they're measuring at 100 percent capacity, and 127 percent of where they usually are around this time of year. …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/12217149