Study: Calif. moving toward more extreme weather
By Laurel Hamers, Mercury News
STANFORD — Stanford researchers who studied trends in the atmospheric circulation patterns that affect California’s rainfall have found that conditions linked to the hot, dry weather during our latest drought have become more frequent in recent decades, according to research published Friday.
That means that while this year’s El Niño-driven storms may have brought temporary relief to the Golden State’s parched soil and depleted reservoirs, Californians can expect more frequent droughts in the decades to come, according to the study published by Science Advances.
It’s a finding obscured by focusing solely on the state’s precipitation, which has remained mostly steady over time. That’s because even with an increased chance of drought, the weather patterns that trigger exceptionally wet weather are persisting. In short, California is trending toward more extreme weather, bringing new challenges for managing our water supply.