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Drought numbers jump in California

California Drought
Posted at 12:41 PM, Jul 30, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-30 15:42:23-04

The entire state of California has been in a drought for months but the severity continues to deepen. The key factors are no surprise: it was a terrible rain year, summer rarely delivers any significant rain and local reservoirs see planned draws primarily for agriculture (their designed use).

At this point, there is not much that can be done. Conservation will not improve drought status or raise levels and we are months from significant rainfall. One can hope for heat to be reasonable but we have been running above average in the interior and the outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center continue to show little optimism for rain while also showing the likelihood for temperatures to stay above average.

In terms of weather, the interior has been near 100 all week and Friday will be no exception. Some minor cooling can be expected over the weekend but next week temperatures look to pop up to near 100 again.

Near the coast, the marine layer is squished down due to a ridge of high pressure. Beaches will see the most cooling but the further away you get the less of that cooling you'll have access to.