blog post Can Nine Atmospheric Rivers Recharge California’s Groundwater? By Sarah Bardeen Feb 6, 2023 Last month’s storms dropped immense amounts of water on California. Now, many people are wondering if we’ve been able to sock away any of that bounty—so we asked groundwater hydrologist Helen Dahlke to give us the skinny.
blog post The Promise of a Wet January By Jeffrey Mount Jan 5, 2023 California is in an impressive—and much-needed—wet period. But the current parade of atmospheric rivers also highlights how difficult it is to capture and store water during times of great abundance. Can we do better?
blog post California Depends on Rivers—in the Air By Lori Pottinger Dec 8, 2015 Climate change could bring bigger rains and longer droughts to the state. We talked to Mike Dettinger about "atmospheric rivers” and what they mean for California’s water system.
blog post Operating Dams to Better Manage Big Storms Can Build Resiliency to Climate Extremes By Lori Pottinger Mar 8, 2021 California’s reservoirs are operated using outdated assumptions about climate. Advances in weather forecasting can improve how they manage big storms. We talked to Martin Ralph of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography about this approach.
blog post High and Rising: Flood Risk in California Grows By Jeffrey Mount, Daniel Swain Jul 20, 2020 As the climate warms, California storms are getting more intense—adding to the state’s already high flood risk. Developing a better understanding of current and future flood vulnerability is essential to managing this risk.
blog post From Drought to Deluge By Jeffrey Mount Jan 10, 2017 The recent storms made a dent in the California drought but have not washed away major water policy challenges.
blog post Droughts Aren’t Just About Water Anymore By Lori Pottinger Dec 15, 2020 An increasingly “thirsty atmosphere” in California and the West is influencing drought. We talked to climate scientist Mike Dettinger about this phenomenon.
blog post Last Week’s Storm: the Good, the Bad, and the Inconclusive By Jeffrey Mount Nov 1, 2021 The storm of October 24th broke one-day precipitation records throughout Northern California, but did this unusually intense atmospheric river lead to significant changes in our drought picture? PPIC Water Policy Center senior fellow Jeffrey Mount explains what the storm did—and didn’t—do for the state.
blog post A Look Back at 2023’s Volatile Year in Water By Letitia Grenier Jan 9, 2024 Volatility was the name of the game in 2023, as drought-weary California suddenly found itself inundated by atmospheric rivers—and the changes kept coming. We look back on California’s weird (and sometimes wonderful) year in water.