Drought in California, April 1 to 30, 2016

Name: Drought in California, April 1 to 30, 2016
Start: 2016-04-01T00:00
End: 2016-04-30T23:59
Location: California

April 1 to 30, 2016 · NWS HNX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

The California drought continues during the month of April, 2016. 97 inch of precipitation during the month.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.

The California drought continues during the month of April, 2016. Fresno received 1.06 inches of rainfall while Bakersfield only received 0.97 inch of precipitation during the month. Increased precipitation earlier in the year and slightly below normal temperatures we received this month did allow for lower evaporation rates and soil moisture to maintain higher levels. Some snow melt did occur contributing to improved water storage levels.

The U.S. Drought Monitor continued to report exceptional drought conditions across the entire Central California region. This extent of exceptional drought is extremely unusual for California. The general trend of below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures has continued this year.

There continues to be significant media coverage on the on-going drought conditions. These reports include discussion of significant re-allocation of water resources from the east to west side of the San Joaquin Valley, farmers forgoing planting of some crops, loss or reduction of ground water, wells drying up in several communities leaving them with no water, and an unprecedented increase in fire danger across the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains. Also, communities in Central California interior face state mandated reductions in municipal water use.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 31, 2:41 PM PST, 9 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 2:41 PM PST, 9 hours 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
341 PM PDT THU MAR 31 2016

.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD OVER THE REGION THROUGH THIS
WEEKEND BRINGING A WARMING AND DRYING TREND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...THE UPPER TROUGH NOW OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION
CONTINUES TO SHIFT SLOWLY SOUTHEAST WITH A HIGHLY AMPLIFIED RIDGE
JUST OFF THE COAST. VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS SOME AFTERNOON
CUMULUS DEVELOPING OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA AND FOOTHILLS WITH LOTS
OF SUNSHINE ELSEWHERE. ONSHORE SURFACE FLOW IS INCREASING AND WILL
RESULT IN SOME MODERATE BREEZES LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE
EVENING. TEMPERATURES ARE RUNNING UP A FEW DEGREES FROM THIS TIME
YESTERDAY AND WILL TOP OUT SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE END OF
MARCH.

THE UPPER RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT INLAND THROUGH THE WEEKEND FOR
CONTINUED DRY CONDITIONS ALONG WITH A WARMING TREND. HIGH TEMPS WILL
BE WELL ABOVE NORMAL THIS WEEKEND WITH LOWER 80S FORECAST FOR THE
LOWER ELEVATIONS. A WEAKENING PACIFIC TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO SHIFT
IN OVER PACNW/NORCAL SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. MAIN EFFECTS LOOK TO
BE SOME SLIGHT COOLING AND SOME BREEZY TO GUSTY WINDS AS THE ONSHORE
SURFACE FLOW PICKS UP AGAIN. HIGHS SHOULD STILL BE AT LEAST A FEW
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL EARLY NEXT WEEK DESPITE THE COOLING FROM THE
TROUGH. MORE EPAC RIDGING IS EXPECTED TO BUILD IN BY MIDWEEK FOR
ANOTHER UPTICK IN TEMPERATURES. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SOME PRECIP
BY LATE IN THE WEEK FROM A PACIFIC LOW SOUTHWEST OF SOCAL.

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR FOR THE
NEXT 24 HOURS.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.

&&

.CERTAINTY...

THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH.
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS HIGH.

CERTAINTY LEVELS INCLUDE LOW...MEDIUM...AND HIGH. PLEASE VISIT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HNX/CERTAINTY.PHP FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
AN/OR TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

PUBLIC...DCH
AVN/FW...DS
SYNOPSIS...ANDERSEN

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD