The recent storms that have hit California have been a welcome sight for the state’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville. After months of drought, these storms have brought much-needed water and have even resulted in an increase in the lake levels. As of Monday, Lake Shasta was at 60% of capacity and Lake Oroville was at 72% of capacity, both of which exceed their historical averages for February.
The recent storms have been beneficial for both lakes, as satellite photos from NASA Earth Observatory show. On November 19th, the first photo was taken and Lake Shasta was at 31% of capacity, while Lake Oroville was at 28%. By January 29th, Lake Shasta was at 56% of capacity and Lake Oroville was at 64%.
Although the recent storms have been a welcome sight for California, experts have warned that it will take more than a few storms to make up for the years of water deficits. Groundwater has been depleted and is still at dangerously low levels in places including the Central Valley. In Los Angeles, stormwater capture has not been as successful as expected. The Colorado River is also in crisis.
Fortunately, the recent storms have made a significant difference. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the proportion of the state in severe drought or worse dropped from 85% to 33% in the three months since the storms hit. This shows that the storms have been a positive for California, but there is still a long way to go to bring the state back to its normal water levels.
