San Francisco's drought of 2013, driest year ever, since weather records began

[CreekDog]

Normal: 23.65 inches of precipitation per year, since records began in 1848.

Driest Years ranked:

1st
2013 5.59 inches of precipitation

2nd
1917 9.00

3rd
1898 9.31

4th
1976 9.43

5th
1929 10.00

6th
1923 10.99

7th
1939 11.16

8th
1877 11.93

9th
1932 12.00

10th
1971 12.32

[Berlum]

1. The Great Plains - America's breadbasket -- are also still in drought

...and that should have everyone's attention

[subterranean]

2. It's really astounding how dry it's been there.

In many spots around the Bay Area and Central California, the amount of rainfall in 2013 was less than half of the previous record dry year. SF Airport recorded just under 3.5 inches for the year, which is about the annual average for Yuma, Arizona!

[CreekDog]

3. yes, it's astounding. The SF Airport number is even more amazing.

I posted the San Francisco city number because those records go back to 1848, the Airport numbers to the 1920's.

But the driest at SFO by far for sure as well.

[ffr]

4. Shiny metal objects = distractions

While the M$M is taking Faux's bait, 2/3 of the country is either in abnormally dry or exceptionally dry conditions, the highest rating they have. It's like a news blackout to what's really going on. Okay, so there's some cold weather going on in the mid-west, but how about equal coverage for the rest of us!!!

Depending on where you live, you're categorized into these classes of drought:
1) Abnormally Dry
2) Moderately Dry
3) Severe Drought
4) Extreme Drought
5) Exceptional Drought




http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ PDF 12/31/13.

November 2013 global temperature highest on record
Year-to-date global temperature ties for fourth highest on record

The globally-averaged temperature for November 2013 was the highest for November since record keeping began in 1880. November 2013 also marks the 37th consecutive November and 345th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average. NOAA & on DU

[CreekDog]

5. Thank you for posting this

[Starry Messenger]

6. The sky gods are angered.

[CreekDog]

8. pretty obvious they aren't crying

[Brother Buzz]

7. Snowpack in the Sierra is a paltry 20% of normal

Meager Sierra snowpack is way below average


By Bettina Boxall
January 3, 2014, 4:51 p.m.

The signs aren’t good when the chief of California’s snow survey has to walk over bare ground to take a snowpack measurement in the Sierra Nevada, as Frank Gehrke did Friday near Echo Summit.

Manual and electronic readings up and down the range placed the statewide snowpack at 20% of normal for this date, adding to worries that 2014 could be a bad drought year.

The meager snowpack was not a surprise. Last year was California’s driest in 119 years of records, according to the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno.

Los Angeles and other cities around the state recorded their lowest precipitation amounts for a calendar year. The levels of key reservoirs have been dropping when they should be rising with winter rains.

<more>

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-sierra-snowpack-20140103,0,939473.story#ixzz2pa8jm76m