Long term drought impacts continued to ease through the month of April, with precipitation more than double normal levels for the northern Sierra. This continued the very wet pattern which began in the Fall and continued through the winter months to produce a deep snow-pack and to fill reservoirs.
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.
The episode as NWS STO wrote it up.
Long term drought impacts continued to ease through the month of April, with precipitation more than double normal levels for the northern Sierra. This continued the very wet pattern which began in the Fall and continued through the winter months to produce a deep snow-pack and to fill reservoirs. The northern Sierra broke the record for the wettest year on record, with records dating back to 1920-21. At the end of April, Lake Shasta was 109% of normal, Lake Oroville was 91%, Folsom Lake was 99%, and Don Pedro was 110%. New Melones Reservoir improved most significantly and was at 133% of normal, reaching levels not seen in years.
The U.S. Drought Monitor showed all of interior Northern California in the 'None' category for April, with no areas in drought or abnormally dry.
Groundwater aquifers continued to recharge, with the DWR Water Data Library showing strong signs of improvement in many areas.
Governor Jerry Brown had declared a drought emergency for the entire state of California on January 17, 2014. On April 7, 2017, the governor made a new declaration ending the drought emergency for all but a few counties in California. Tuolumne County is the one county in interior northern California which remained in a drought emergency, with emergency drinking water projects continuing to help address diminished groundwater supplies. A local emergency proclamation remains for Tuolumne County to coordinate response to the drought.
The State Water Resources Control Board will maintain urban water use reporting requirements and prohibitions on wasteful practices such as watering during or after rainfall, hosing off sidewalks and irrigating ornamental turf on public street medians. |State agencies issued a plan to continue to make conservation a way of life in California, as directed by Governor Brown in May 2016. The framework requires new legislation to establish long-term water conservation measures and improved planning for more frequent and severe droughts.
The state will continue its work to coordinate a statewide response on the unprecedented bark beetle outbreak in drought-stressed forests that has killed millions of trees across California. The threat of dead or dying trees continued, with on-going tree-removal programs at the state and federal level.
The state continued to supply food assistance to those impacted by the drought, along with California Disaster Assistance Act money for those who have lost drinking water due to dry wells.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 31, 7:05 PM PST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sacramento CA 805 PM PDT Fri Mar 31 2017 .SYNOPSIS... Breezy northerly wind continues into Saturday, but not as strong as today. Dry and warm this weekend except for a slight chance of light showers over the Shasta mountains and Sierra Nevada Sunday night. Continued dry next week through Wednesday then increasing threat of precipitation Thursday into Friday. && .DISCUSSION... Upper ridging along the West Coast, combined with strong surface high pressure from EPAC extending through Oregon into the Great Basin, is producing gusty northerly wind over Interior NorCal. N-S surface pressure gradient is decreasing this evening as VAD profilers showing winds aloft also trending down. Speeds have dropped below criteria and thus have dropped the Wind Advisory. Wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph expected in most areas overnight. Upper ridging weakens and progress Saturday as upstream short wave trough approaches the PacNW. Northerly winds increase again tomorrow morning with breezy conditions into the afternoon. However, wind speeds look less than what occurred today and will likely remain below advisory criteria. Warm temperatures forecast for Saturday with afternoon highs upwards of 10 to 15 degrees above normal. Short wave moves through PacNW Sunday followed by secondary wave that takes a more southern route across Interior NorCal Sunday night. System looks weak and moisture starved leading to only a slight chance of showers over the Shasta mountains and Sierra Nevada. Some breezy conditions over higher terrain can be expected as the vort max moves through. Upper ridging re-amplifies behind this wave Monday returning gusty northerly wind to Interior NorCal. Wind advisories may be needed again on Monday. Downslope warming will be offset by stronger low level CAA, leading to some minor cooling over the area Monday. PCH && .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (Tuesday THROUGH Friday) A ridge will be in place to start off the extended period keeping quiet weather in place. The ridge tracks east on Thursday and we will see a short wave pass through the area. This will bring the chance for some light showers mainly in northern areas and the Sierras. Friday and into the weekend we will move into a more unsettled weather pattern with an upper level low setting up to our northwest. This will give us a chance to see a weak atmospheric river setup but there is quite a bit of model disagreement with timing and placement of this low. CM && .AVIATION... Nly flow alf as upr rdg off W Cst blds inld. VFR conds ovr Intr NorCal nxt 24 hrs with lcl Nly sfc wnd gsts up to 30 kts. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System indicated there were homes without well water due to dry wells. In April there were 240 dry wells in Tuolumne County, unchanged since March. Emergency drinking water projects continued to help communities address diminished groundwater supplies.
The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System indicated there were some homes without well water due to dry wells. In April there were 314 in Stanislaus County, unchanged since March. There were 8 in San Joaquin County, unchanged from March. Many rural communities in the Northern San Joaquin Valley were still receiving food assistance as a direct result of the drought.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2017
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 699893, 699895.