Water levels at two southern California reservoirs have risen over the weekend following a moisture-laden Pacific storm that brought excessive rain to the area.
Torrential rain from an offshore Pacific storm made landfall in southern California on Thursday, and the downpours then traveled eastward to bring snow and rain to New Mexico. Oxnard, California, received a month's worth of rain when more than 3 inches fell in only an hour, and several other southern California municipalities also received rain.
The Oxnard area received the most rain. Cachuma Lake, which is 60 miles northwest of Oxnard, has risen several inches since the deluge hit the area on Thursday.
Prior to the storm, a Cachuma Lake water level graph showed that the lake was experiencing a minor decline in its water levels, which are currently 145 percent of historical average, according to a map by the California Department of Water Resources.
Lake Casitas, which is 20 miles northwest of Oxnard, has risen nearly a foot since the storm arrived. The lake is currently at 94 percent of its historical average and is only 72 percent full, the California Department of Water Resources reported. Castaic Lake, which is 50 miles northeast of Oxnard, has maintained its levels following the storm.
The moisture-laden storm is only the most recent that has aided California reservoirs. Many California lakes have recovered substantially after years of drought following a wet winter last year.
The most recent version of the U.S. Drought Monitor Map shows that less than 4 percent of California is "abnormally dry," whereas the rest of the state is drought free. However, the map is published every Thursday and doesn't account for the recent storm.
Last year's abnormally wet winter also supplemented Lake Mead's water levels after the reservoir reached dangerously low levels in the summer of 2022. The lake's levels are more than 20 feet higher than this time last year.
More good news could be in store for California's reservoirs due to El Niño.
El Niño is one of two climate patterns that greatly impact Earth's weather. La Niña recently culminated in the spring, ending a multiyear period in which the pattern influenced the weather. El Niño started in June, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) most recent update has identified El Niño as having high odds of being historically strong.
El Niño often brings wet weather during the winter to the Southwest, including parts of California. However, the climate pattern doesn't guarantee excess moisture in southern California.
"Take for example 2015-16, where we were in an El Niño and everyone in Central and Southern California had below-average precipitation," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Paul Pastelok previously told Newsweek in September.
However, several rain-heavy storms have already pummeled the Pacific Northwest and West Coast this season.
Newsweek reached out to AccuWeather by email for comment.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
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