LeakBird

Conserving Water, One Toilet At A Time

Central and Northern California Aleady Ultra-Lacking in Precipitation: Driest Santa Cruz January in 33 Years! (CentralCoast)

Jan.14, 2009 in Drought, Water Conservation, Water Crisis, Water Industry

(Jan. 14, 2009, Central Coast)

More than 20 cities stretching from the Bay Area to the Mexican border matched or broke record high temperatures Tuesday, including Monterey at 74 and Salinas at 76, according to AccuWeather.

In Santa Cruz, where the high of 79 was one degree short of the 1948 record, many took to the beaches Tuesday on an another unseasonably warm January day.

“I never expected to leave the house in board shorts and bare feet in the middle of January,” said Damien Gibson, a Santa Cruz resident and Cabrillo College student.

“I’ve worn my bathing suit for the past three days. It’s so nice,” Santa Cruz resident Emily Sitton said. “I keep asking why the Boardwalk isn’t open because it feels like summer.”

While many are soaking up the beach weather, the lack of rain is leaving reservoirs dry, as a ridge of high pressure pushes storms to the north.

“With a huge ridge parked off the Northern California coast through at least early next week, there is not a hint of rain or snow anywhere in the state,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Ken Clark. “Unfortunately, the reservoirs were depleted last summer so we could be looking at water rationing by next summer. We’re not looking at a very rosy picture here.”

All of Northern and Central California already are far short of normal precipitation for this time of year, according to Clark, as is snow in the Sierra.

For Santa Cruz, January has not been this dry since 1976, when the city saw a total of .32 inches of rain for the month, according to the National Weather Service in Monterey. Santa Cruz is currently at .29 inches for January. Last year, 12 inches dropped this month.”It’s supposed to be the rainiest time of year and we haven’t had any precipitation except for a couple dribbles this month,” Clark said. “So far, it’s not likely to rain for the next six days at least.”

The National Weather Service in Monterey said despite the warm temperatures and lack of rainfall, there is still time to make up for the dry spell.

“We are only half way through January,” forecaster Steve Anderson said. “We might see something at the end of the month. Sometimes we can make up for any rain deficits in March or early spring but it’s too early to say right now. Once you get past April though, it’s impossible to make up more than 3 inches. Mother Nature wants to have things in balance. If we have a really dry couple months, more likely than not we’ll have a wetter period after.”