After three months of heavy rain and record snow, California is now facing the risk of floods due to melting snowpacks, as temperatures rise in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada regions.
Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, Tulare Lake in California’s San Joaquin Valley has reemerged due to heavy rains and snow in the first three months of 2023.
Park City, Utah, has experienced record-breaking snowfall this winter, causing significant damage to homes and buildings. The weight of the snow has caused roofs to collapse, leaving many residents displaced and seeking temporary shelter.
Unseasonal rains, hailstorms, and strong winds damaged more than 523 000 ha (1 292 332 acres) of wheat crop in three Indian states, causing harvesting challenges and fears of significant yield losses. The untimely rains have also affected mustard, channa, barley, and vegetable crops, among others.
The water level in Lake Shasta, California’s largest reservoir, has risen significantly this month, providing relief to local residents who rely on the water source.
A G4 – Severe geomagnetic storm on March 24, 2023, caused red auroras to appear over Florida and other low-latitude areas, marking the first such sighting over Florida in nearly 20 years. Numerous unusual phenomena were observed during this geomagnetic storm, including “aurora dunes” over Alberta, Canada.
The activity at Lewotolo volcano, located in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, intensified over the weekend. The Alert Level remains at 2 (on a scale of 1 – 4), and the public is warned to stay 2 km (1.2 miles) away from the summit crater.
A combination of factors led to unexpectedly strong geomagnetic storm levels on Thursday, March 23, and Friday, March 24, 2023. The storm reached G3 – Strong levels at 14:49 UTC on March 23 and escalated to G4 – Severe at 04:04 UTC on March 24. The precise cause of this geomagnetic storm is still under investigation, but it is possible that coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from March 20 to 21 played a role.
This winter season in California has been one for the books, with snowpack statewide doubling the normal levels and much above what’s typical by April 1st, historically the deepest snow depth of the season. Despite widespread flooding and mandatory evacuations around rivers and creeks, the southern Sierra region, particularly Soda Springs, has seen an impressive amount of snowfall, marking the second snowiest winter on record with over 17 m (56 feet) of snow. While still shy of the record set during the 1951-52 season, with more snow predicted, it’s expected to come close in the next couple of weeks.
Located in the Central Volcanic Region, the town of Kawerau in New Zealand has been hit by a series of earthquakes since March 17, 2023, with a tally of over 780 quakes. Of these, six earthquakes have registered magnitudes above M4.0. The seismic activity has caused noticeable shaking in the region, with the most substantial earthquake having a magnitude of M4.8, while the majority of the quakes have been rated between M2.0 and M2.9.
