A recent geophysical study on California’s Long Valley Caldera has unveiled the mechanisms behind its seismic activity and uplift. The research, published in Science Advances, utilized distributed acoustic sensing and machine-learning algorithms to reach its conclusions.
A series of atmospheric rivers are slated to affect the Pacific Northwest, starting today and lasting until Monday. The most intense activity is forecasted for Sunday, October 15, 2023, with the potential for strong atmospheric conditions in coastal Oregon.
Tropical Storm “Hilary” — previously a Category 4 hurricane — reached California on August 20, 2023, marking its position as one of the rare storms to maintain integrity upon reaching the state. The storm, with surface winds over 80 km/h (50 mph), brought with it record-breaking rainfall and caused widespread flooding and power outages across the region.
A destructive landslide tore through luxury homes in Rolling Hills Estates on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California on Monday, July 10, 2023. The pace of the landslide, which began on Saturday, increased through the weekend and led to the evacuation of residents.
California, under the grip of intense drought for years, experienced its highest year-over-year water gains in the last two decades, as revealed by the GRACE-FO satellite mission, a collaborative initiative between NASA and GFZ. Between October 2022 and March 2023, the state received sufficient rainfall to increase the water levels by approximately 50.8 cm (20 inches), roughly twice the average winter water gain since 2002.
A shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M5.5 hit Lake Almanor, Northern California at 23:19 UTC on May 11, 2023. The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks, including M5.2 at 10:18 UTC on May 12.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced the first full water supply allocation since 2006, benefiting 27 million residents across California after a record winter.
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.
17 atmospheric rivers and several non-atmospheric-river storms since December 2022 pushed California’s snowpack to its largest level in recorded history, surpassing the previous record set in 1982-1983. In addition, the state’s drought conditions have improved significantly since the start of the water year, with severe to exceptional drought conditions now covering only 6.99% of the area, down from 93% just one year ago.
