Global warming is slamming California
By Sean Cockerham, McClatchy
The drought has been declared over in most of California, with heavy winter rains sending water over the Oroville dam and forcing the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people.
But climate change is still in the air, and the recent weather pattern is a harbinger of what’s to come. The abrupt shift to record rainfall is the kind of extreme weather forecast for a warming planet.
Parched earth could soon return, say climate scientists, who predict a worsening spiral of intense California drought followed by periods of flooding as the planet gets warmer.
The extreme weather is making it increasingly difficult for California to manage its flood-control and water management infrastructure.