Tag Archives: floods

New Study Focuses on Historical Floods to Aid Property Owners in Evaluating Climate Risks

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New research published on Monday indicates that the number of structures in the United States vulnerable to flooding may be greater than previously estimated.

A study, published in the Journal’s Future of Earth, revealed that 43% of North Carolina’s flooded buildings from 1996 to 2020 are outside the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Special Flood Hazard Areas, which FEMA designates as having a 1% chance of flooding in any given year.

Experts and the study’s authors believe these findings may assist more communities in understanding their flood risks and insurance needs. As companies pull back from increasing insurance premiums and insuring homes in certain regions due to more frequent severe weather, obtaining flood insurance is becoming increasingly challenging, leaving property owners more exposed.

According to NBC News, experts stated that having access to reliable data sources could facilitate the creation of nationwide databases like the one outlined in the study.

FEMA’s maps serve as the main reference for identifying flood-prone zones and structures requiring insurance coverage. However, experts argue that this system is outdated and lacks resolution. A 100-year floodplain projection doesn’t fully encompass the areas that could be at risk for flooding, and the authors noted that climate change has compromised the reliability of previously authoritative weather and climate forecasts.

This study enabled researchers to pinpoint specific structures that have experienced multiple flooding incidents by utilizing address-level data. This information could inform property owners on whether to obtain flood insurance, even if they fall outside FEMA’s designated flood hazard zones. In the United States, FEMA reports that 99% of counties have experienced flooding, yet only 4% of homeowners hold flood insurance at least once.

“Detailed information about previously flooded areas can empower individuals to make informed decisions,” expressed Helena Margaret Garcia, the lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program did not respond to requests for comments.

FEMA is currently working on revamping its flood mapping system through the Future of Flood Risk Data initiative, aimed at employing more efficient, accurate, and consistent technology to assess the country’s flood risks comprehensively.

Water markers in Orocoke, North Carolina homes illustrate the increasing severity of flooding between hurricanes over time.
Courtesy of Helena Garcia

As global temperatures rise, more intense rainfall events are becoming common since warmer air can hold more moisture. Climate change has also contributed to rising sea levels, increasing vulnerability to flooding even in coastal and some inland areas. Hurricane Helen, the third deadliest hurricane of modern times, inflicted substantial flooding in North Carolina’s mountainous regions. Damage from the storm exceeded a total of $78 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The recent severe rainfall has caused flash floods across many U.S. towns over the last two weeks, most recently impacting towns in New Jersey and New York City. In North Carolina alone, six deaths have been reported, while over 100 fatalities have occurred in Texas. Flash floods have historically accounted for the highest number of storm-related deaths in the U.S., averaging 125 deaths per year over recent decades, according to the National Weather Service.

A North Carolina climate scientist noted that the warm seawater feeding the storm could have been a contributing factor to last week’s Tropical Storm Chantal, which set rainfall and river level records in the state.

With the impacts of climate change, having access to up-to-date maps is essential, experts argue.

In their study, researchers mapped 78 flood events using data from 1996 to 2020 from the National Flood Insurance Program, which allows property owners to purchase insurance for potential flood-related losses. They also incorporated emergency service requests and volunteer-based geographic information obtained from social media, creating what they termed the “first of its kind” database. This historical flood data is often inaccessible to the public, which can hinder homeowners’ awareness of prior flood incidents affecting their properties.

Garcia stated that researchers plan to apply the same methodology from their study to create similar historical maps in various regions across the country, identifying areas previously overlooked concerning flood risk.

The research indicated that out of 90,000 structures, only 20,000 experienced flooding, highlighting a significant number that did not file NFIP claims. The study’s authors are now focused on quantifying the human impact, examining outcomes such as healthcare disruptions resulting from floods and the scale of evacuations caused by repeated flooding, as Garcia explained.

On July 7th, Eastgate Mall’s parking lot in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was inundated following a tropical storm.
Courtesy of Antonia Sebastian/Helena Garcia

Antonia Sebastian, an assistant professor in the Department of Geology at UNC-Chapel Hill, noted that the study aspires to establish a “comprehensive record of past floods” by gathering data on relatively minor flood events that impact homeowners yet do not receive widespread media attention.

“Areas that have previously flooded are likely to flood again; it’s only a matter of time,” Sebastian remarked. “These sites are inherently dangerous.”

Chad Belginis, executive director of the Flood Plains Association who was not involved in the study, stated that FEMA’s maps are intended to implement the NFIP by utilizing 100-year flood plains to delineate zones for flood insurance coverage. He emphasized that analyzing historical flood research highlights the necessity for flood insurance in areas beyond the mapped FEMA flood hazard zones.

“FEMA’s flood map serves as a starting point, not an endpoint,” Berginnis clarified. “The maps present one kind of flood risk, but to fully grasp flood risk, it is crucial to seek out historical flood data.”

He mentioned that the database models illustrated in the study could be adopted in various other regions. A community manager indicated that identifying past flood sites could enhance community awareness regarding flood risks.

“When we consider the history of floods, [like those along the Guadalupe River], it emphasizes the dangers that have persisted over time,” they reflected. “I truly believe that these areas should be acknowledged as perilous, yet awareness of the actual flooding risks is often lacking.”

June Choi, a doctoral student in Earth Systems Science at Stanford University and not involved in the study, noted that the finding regarding many flooded buildings existing outside FEMA-designated risky areas likely applies to all states. She highlighted that while new databases might have limitations regarding changing building densities over time, the application of historical records and address-specific data still provides valuable insights for assessing future flood risks.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Flash Floods Devastate Crucial Habitats for Australian Wildlife

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Rangers safely transport Tasmanian devils during flooding at Aussie Ark Sanctuary

Aussie Ark

Conservation personnel are racing to safeguard a crucial population of Australian wildlife following unprecedented rainfall in New South Wales that resulted in the loss of four lives.

The Australian Ark Sanctuary in Barrington Tops, New South Wales spans 400 hectares, providing a secure environment for Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus harrisii), brush-tailed rock wallabies (Petrogale penicillata), Eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus), long-nosed potoroos (Potorous tridactylus), and broad-toothed rats (Mastacomys fuscus). These animals are protected from natural predators like cats and foxes. The sanctuary acts as an insurance policy for these species in the event that wild populations face extinction.

Since 2010, around 500 Tasmanian devil joeys have been born at the facility, with approximately 50 being reintroduced into specially designated wild areas. Over the coming years, it is anticipated that more of these animals will be released back into their natural habitat to help restore the Tasmanian devil populations on the Australian mainland.

This week, a severe low-pressure weather system hit parts of New South Wales, resulting in a record storm. In a matter of days, the sanctuary received over 400 millimeters of rain. Despite its elevation of 1,200 meters on a mountain, the park experienced flash floods that compromised fencing meant to protect against wildlife and posed risks to the animals housed in small enclosures.

Tim Faulkner from Aussie Ark reported that many animals in breeding enclosures had to be relocated to emergency centers equipped with veterinary clinics. However, a major challenge remains as about one kilometer of the sanctuary’s 10-kilometer perimeter fence has been damaged, with some sections completely washed away by the floods.

“We have approximately one kilometer of fencing affected, with corner posts compromised and sections washed out, resulting in damaged strainer wires,” Faulkner explained. “The electric hot wire is completely down, so you can’t rely on it. Test your defenses.”

Flood-damaged fence at Aussie Ark Sanctuary

Aussie Ark

Despite the damaged fencing, Faulkner’s team is on constant watch to monitor the affected sections. To date, no native species are believed to have escaped, and no wildlife has been found within the sanctuary itself.

“There’s an influx of water, squeezing, pressure, and flooding through every tiny crack on the mountain. I dread to think about the wildlife impacted by these immense floods outside our sanctuary,” Faulkner expressed.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Study Confirms Climate Change Intensified April Floods

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Severe thunderstorms in April resulted in historic downpours and flooding across Arkansas, Kentucky, and other states, exacerbated by climate change.

This information comes from the World Weather Attributes Project, a consortium of scientists studying major weather events in relation to climate change.

From April 3 to April 6, heavy rainfall hit the southeastern U.S., leading to widespread flooding, flood warnings for over 70 million individuals, at least 15 fatalities, the sweeping away of vehicles, and train derailments.

By utilizing climate models alongside historical data, researchers examined storm systems across eight affected states and concluded that the current weather patterns were approximately 9% more intense due to global warming, with a 40% increased likelihood compared to a scenario without such warming.

Ben Clark, a researcher at Imperial College London, stated, “We conclude that the existing 1.3 degrees Celsius of warming has intensified the extreme rainfall leading to flooding in the region. A warmer atmosphere retains more moisture.”

The outcome was severe flooding in Frankfort, Kentucky, along with a rainy day in the Midwest on April 7th.
Leandro Lozada/AFP Getty Images file

The 1.3 degrees reference indicates how much warmer the planet has become in Celsius since humanity began releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere post-Industrial Revolution—a conversion of approximately 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Clark noted that the probability estimates from the group are conservative. The researchers identified a unique weather configuration that contributed to the extreme rainfall.

Shell Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization involved in the report, explained that a low-pressure system interacting with a high-pressure ridge caused the thunderstorms to repeatedly affect the same areas in the Southeast and Midwest.

“This front was the route through which these storms moved, and there was also a trigger mechanism. The thunderstorms accumulated rain on already saturated soil,” Winkley noted. “This event is a fascinating intersection of weather and climate change.”

According to Winkley, the National Weather Service issued the third highest weather warning on April 2.

“By the end of the day, the National Weather Service had released 728 separate thunderstorm and tornado warnings from various offices, with numerous locations experiencing extreme rainfall between April 3 and April 6, with some areas seeing up to 16 inches,” Winkley explained.

After a significant storm in Portageville, Missouri on April 7th, vehicles navigate through flooded streets.
Scott Olson/Getty Images File

Upon reviewing historical rainfall from April, researchers indicated that similar storm systems are anticipated every century in the current warm climate.

Gerald Brotzge, a Kentucky climatologist and professor at the University of Kentucky Western University, initially approached such studies with skepticism, particularly those linking large-scale flooding to climate change without accounting for unique weather setups. However, he found this study credible.

Brotzge remarked, “It appears they conducted a thorough analysis. In this instance, a stagnant boundary allowed thunderstorms to constantly form in the same locality—an accurate observation.”

Brotzge noted that Kentucky has warmed by nearly 1.8 degrees Celsius (approximately 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit) over the last 130 years and has been experiencing increased rainfall.

“Our annual rainfall has risen by about 10%,” Brotzge stated. “Half of our ten wettest years have occurred since 2011, with 2011 being the wettest and 2018 as the second wettest.”

The World Weather Attribution is a team of scientists who quickly assess the influence of climate change on extreme weather events. Their methodology has undergone peer review, though some analyses are not immediately reviewed. Previous studies by the group on heatwaves, wildfires, and hurricanes have also faced academic scrutiny.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Blizzards in the north and floods in the south wreak havoc in the eastern US

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The eastern half of the US is bracing for severe weather this weekend, with “life-threatening” flash floods expected in parts of the southeast and heavy snowfall as the storm progresses from the Midwest to New England.

The heaviest snow is predicted in Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine, with double-digit totals projected by the National Weather Service.

Workers removing snow from sidewalks during a winter storm in Chicago on February 12, 2025.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The National Weather Service issued an early warning on Saturday highlighting the potential for severe flash floods in Ohio and Tennessee valleys, especially in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Approximately 21 million people from Arkansas to Pennsylvania have been placed under various flood warnings.

A broad range of severe thunderstorms is anticipated across the region, bringing rainfall of up to 6 inches and isolated higher totals of 8 inches in certain areas.

The Weather Bureau stated, “The heavy rainfall poses the greatest risk of life-threatening flash floods, notably in northwest Tennessee and western Kentucky, where there is a high risk of excessive rainfall (level 4/4) in effect.” Read more in the Short-Range Forecast Discussion.

Apart from flooding, there is also a potential for thunderstorms and strong tornadoes in parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley, according to the National Weather Service.

A large area of rain and thunderstorms is expected to persist along the mid-Atlantic and southeastern coasts through the weekend, increasing the risk of heavy precipitation and flash flooding.

Further north, medium to heavy snowfall is forecasted from the upper Midwest through the Great Lakes to New England, affecting around 70 million people with winter weather warnings from Nebraska to Maine.

A mix of sleet and freezing rain is expected in much of the northeast, creating hazardous driving conditions.

The NWS Weather Prediction Center warned, “The greatest risk for ice accumulation due to freezing rain is in the northeast.” They also cautioned that in some areas, icing could lead to power outages. Read the advisory on x website.

The storm is expected to intensify in the northeast from late Saturday through Sunday, with strong gusty winds and periods of snow creating extremely difficult travel conditions, as per the Weather Service.

Early next week, forecasts indicate that rain and snow will move away from the east coast, but breezy winds will maintain cooler temperatures across much of the eastern US.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Floods in Alaska caused by glacier dam bursting

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The flooding is caused by the retreat of smaller glaciers near Mendenhall Glacier, a result of global warming that creates a basin filled with rain and melting snow each spring and summer. When the water pressure is strong enough, it can seep under or around the ice dams formed by Mendenhall Glacier and flow into Mendenhall Lake and eventually the Mendenhall River.

Since 2011, this phenomenon has also led to flooding of roads and homes near lakes and rivers. Last year’s floods engulfed large areas, causing riverbanks to collapse, homes to be flooded, and at least one house to be submerged in the swiftly moving waters.

Authorities indicated that the extent of this week’s flooding was unprecedented, leaving residents distressed as they attempted to salvage furniture, books, and other possessions in the midst of warm, sunny weather. Debris such as garbage bags, wood, boxes, wet insulation, carpets, and other items were stacked along road curbs on Wednesday. Street sweepers were busy clearing the muddy aftermath left by the receded water.

Eran Hood, an environmental science professor at the University of Alaska Southeast who has spent years studying Mendenhall Glacier, mentioned that while the basin was created by glacier retreat, climate change has minimal impact on the annual fluctuations in flood levels in Juneau.

A family is rescued from flooding on the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska, on August 6.Sean Maguire/Anchorage Daily News via The Associated Press

He expressed, “It’s evident that these floods will persist over several decades, but predicting the size of future floods is challenging without more precise glacier dynamics modeling, due to numerous factors that influence their magnitude.”

Hood mentioned that at some point, Mendenhall Glacier will shrink and become too thin to act as a barrier.

The flooding serves as a stark reminder of the global hazards posed by failures of snow and ice dams, a concept known as jokulhlaup, which is relatively unfamiliar in the United States. Threatening approximately 15 million people around the world.

Residents remove wet drywall and insulation from the first floor of a home after the Mendenhall River flooded in Juneau, Alaska, on August 6.Mark Lester/nchorage Daily News via The Associated Press

Juneau, a city with about 30,000 inhabitants in southeast Alaska, can only be accessed by plane or boat. Despite peak tourist season, the city is currently facing a housing shortage that could limit temporary accommodations for flood victims. Rental car options in Juneau are also limited for those whose vehicles were affected by the flooding.

Authorities reported that the Mendenhall River hit a new record high of 15.99 feet (4.9 meters), approximately a foot higher than last year’s floods, and the water extended further into Mendenhall Canyon. Some homes beyond flood-prone areas were reached by the water, and the canyon is situated about a 15-20 minute drive from downtown Juneau.

Alyssa Fisher shared that she didn’t anticipate flooding in her area when she went to bed on Monday night. However, her father woke her up over FaceTime a few hours later to inform her of rising water levels outside. She moved his car to higher ground, grabbed essential items, and relocated to a local school shelter with her two children, ages 4 and 8, along with their pets. She noticed that the truck’s license plate had been bent by the floodwaters.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Extreme weather ushers in the start of summer, from scorching temperatures to devastating floods

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summary

  • In the last week alone, extreme weather has wreaked havoc in many parts of the United States and around the world.
  • Climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme temperatures and heavy rainfall such as those seen recently.
  • This year has been the warmest on record so far, with ocean temperatures breaking new records for more than 15 months.

Summer is quickly becoming a brutal season: Last week alone, record-breaking June heat forced schools to close across the Northeast and slowed some trains, flooding caused bridges to collapse in the Midwest and inundated towns across three states, and tropical storm-force winds prompted disaster declarations for 51 Texas counties.

The threat of climate change lurks behind many recent events.

“Last year, of course, was the warmest year on record by a pretty large margin, and this year, so far, has been the warmest on record for this time of June,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said at a briefing on Monday.

While it will take time for climate scientists to understand and calculate the impact of global warming on individual weather events, the science is clear that as the planet warms, the likelihood of extreme temperatures increases, and the risk of heavy rains increases because a warmer atmosphere can hold and release more moisture.

As a result, the effects of climate change will be more noticeable in the summer, Swain said.

“It’s not surprising that we’re seeing another wave of record-breaking heat and record-breaking rainfall. It’s exhausting, but I think it’s really important that we don’t forget or let it slip away,” he said. “And this heat is especially pronounced in the summer, because, of course, the Northern Hemisphere summer is when most people on the planet experience the hottest weather.”

Extremely heavy rainfall over the weekend flooded communities in at least 80 counties in Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota, temporarily isolating the town of Spencer, Iowa, of 11,000 people from the rest of the state. About 2,000 structures, including hundreds of homes, were damaged in Iowa alone.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

UAE government denies cloud seeding occurred prior to Dubai floods

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The National Meteorological Center, the government task force responsible for cloud seeding missions in the United Arab Emirates, stated that they did not carry out any weather modification techniques in anticipation of severe storms that led to flooding in places like Dubai.

According to CNBC, the group confirmed that they did not deploy pilots for seeding operations before or during the storm that affected the UAE on that fateful Tuesday.

Omar Al-Yazidi, deputy director of NCM, emphasized that no seeding operations were conducted during the storm, stating, “If you find yourself in severe thunderstorm conditions, you should carry out seeding operations before the rain falls. It’s too late.”

On Tuesday, the UAE experienced heavy rainfall. NCM reported that Al Ain received 10 inches of rainfall, while Dubai saw over 100 mm. This is significantly higher than the average annual rainfall in the UAE, which ranges from 140 to 200mm.

NCM’s statement contradicted previous reports suggesting that some of the rain was caused by cloud seeding. The process of cloud seeding has been a crucial aspect of the UAE’s efforts to combat water scarcity since the 1990s, with over 1,000 hours of cloud seeding conducted annually.

The increase in precipitation is attributed to climate change, with a study projecting a 30% increase in precipitation by 2080. This shift in weather patterns has posed challenges for the UAE’s infrastructure, especially in managing drainage systems during heavy downpours.

The UAE government issued warnings through the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, advising residents to adhere to safety guidelines due to the extreme weather conditions.

Despite the region’s unique weather patterns, the UAE’s drainage systems struggled to handle the unprecedented rainfall, leading to flooding in many areas, including Dubai Airport.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Cloud Seeding: An Explanation and its Potential Role in the Dubai Floods

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Driver abandons car after rainstorm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 17

Christopher Pike/Bloomberg/Getty

Record rainfall has hit the Arabian Peninsula this week, causing flooding in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other coastal cities in the United Arab Emirates. The extreme weather sparked speculation on social media that the UAE’s long-standing cloud seeding program may have played a role. However, cloud seeding almost certainly does not have a significant impact on flooding.

How unusual was the recent rain in the Arabian Peninsula?

It was the most extreme event in the UAE since record-keeping began in 1949. according to to the state-run Emirates News Agency. From April 15th to 16th, some parts of the country received more than their normal annual rainfall in a 24-hour period. Heavy rains in desert regions are not uncommon, but they are not unheard of – as the UAE sees it. heavy rain and flooding For example, 2016.

A drainage system in a coastal city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been overwhelmed by spills, causing flooding. Dramatic images of a plane driving through stagnant water at Dubai International Airport have been widely shared online.

In neighboring Oman, died in flash flood At least 18 people. Parts of Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia also experienced unusual rainfall.

What is cloud seeding? Did it affect extreme rain?

Cloud seeding is a way to increase precipitation, From about the 1940s. This involves spraying powders such as silver iodide onto clouds from airplanes or rockets, or burning them from stations on the ground. Droplets of supercooled water form around these particles and fall to the ground as rain or snow.

Since 2002, the UAE has maintained one of the largest cloud seeding programs in the world. Planes regularly fly cloud-seeding missions in an effort to increase freshwater resources in arid regions.

Meteorologists at the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology (NCM) have further fueled speculation that cloud formations may be responsible for the recent rains. Said bloomberg news That in the days before the storm, planes had spread clouds over the country. However, NCM later stated: statement That no seed was sown during the storm.

“We take the safety of our employees, pilots and aircraft very seriously,” the company said. “NCM does not conduct cloud seeding operations during extreme weather conditions.”

Even if cloud formation had occurred during the storm, it would have had at most a small effect on precipitation and would have been localized. The extent of rainfall across several countries and the generally limited influence of cloud species suggest that cloud occurrence almost certainly does not play a significant role. “There is no technology that can create or even significantly alter this type of rainfall event.” Maarten Ambaum at the University of Reading, UK statement.

He noted that cloud seeding would have little impact on clouds that were already predicted to bring rain to the region. And that assumes that cloud seeding is effective at all.

“Many claims of successful cloud seeding are false, scientifically flawed, or actually fraudulent,” he says. Andrew Dessler at Texas A&M University. “This makes most atmospheric scientists very skeptical about cloud formation.”

What weather factors were behind the rain?

The extreme precipitation was caused by large storms called mesoscale convective systems. Suzanne Gray Researchers at the University of Reading say this happens “when many individual thunderstorms coalesce to form a single large high-level cloud shield.”

Forecasters had predicted a high risk of flooding in the area for at least a week before the storm.Writing in progress XJeff Berardelli, a meteorologist at WFLA-TV in Florida, linked the storm to a blocking pattern created by a slow-moving jet stream.

Has climate change made rain worse?

Further analysis is needed to link this particular event to climate change, but climate change likely plays a role.

“These types of heavy rainfall events are likely to become more extreme with climate change, as a warming atmosphere retains more water vapor,” Ambaum said. Changes in temperature can also affect atmospheric circulation patterns in the form of changes in precipitation.

For example, recent study The same type of storm that caused this extreme rainfall has occurred in the region 95 times since 2000, with the most frequent occurrences on the Arabian Peninsula in March and April, researchers found. However, it has also been found that the duration of these storms has increased over the UAE since 2000, which may be linked to rising temperatures.

Alternative climate modeling study They predict that annual rainfall in the UAE will increase by 10 to 25 percent by mid-century, characterized by more intense precipitation events.

topic:

  • climate change/
  • Abnormal weather

Source: www.newscientist.com

California’s recovery from last year’s storms hindered by new atmospheric river floods

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As California prepares for another strong atmospheric river storm on Sunday, Lake Tulare serves as a reminder of the impactful effects these extreme storms can have.

The lake’s floodwaters, which were formed after approximately 12 atmospheric river storms hit California in 2023, are still present 9 months after the resurgence of the “ghost lake.” More than a month later, they still cover thousands of acres of prime farmland.

This summer, the stagnant water of the lake became a gathering place for wild birds and caused an outbreak of avian botulism. Wildlife officials had to patrol daily by airboat and collect hundreds of dead birds. Submerged flooded vehicles and communication equipment at the bottom of the lake left farmers unable to access their fields.

The continuing presence of the lake in this part of the Central Valley emphasizes how the environmental impacts of last year’s extreme rainfall are still affecting California. While this weekend’s storms could bring heavy precipitation to other parts of the state, most flooding effects are not expected to last long.

Currently, Lake Tulare is rapidly shrinking despite recent rainfall. As of Thursday, about 4,532 acres of farmland were still underwater, but the floodwaters have subsided, according to Kings County spokesman Justin Caporusso. This means the lake is now less than 20 times smaller than last year’s peak, and life is returning to normal for nearby residents.

Sgt. Nate Ferrier of the Kings County Sheriff’s Office, who visited the lake in late January, noted that much of the lake has been cleaned up.

“The farming community was already revitalized,” he said. “There were tractors everywhere.”

The lake was a natural feature of the southern San Joaquin Valley until settlers dug irrigation canals to reroute water and drain agricultural land more than a century ago. Last year, the Tulare Basin flooded after a series of storms because reservoirs could not handle heavy snowmelt runoff from the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Caporusso stated that this week’s atmospheric river storms, expected to be accompanied by a significant storm on Sunday, are unlikely to have a significant impact on Tulare Lake. The reservoir upstream of the lake has the capacity to handle the precipitation, and the California Department of Water Resources found that about 45% of normal snow falls in the southern Sierra Nevada during this period.

Source: www.nbcnews.com