How Much Will These Storms Help Relieve California’s Drought? – the New York Times

Caples Lake, High Sierra Nevada (by Tom Christensen CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr).

All the rain and snow are undoubtedly good news for California’s water supply, but they’re unlikely to end the drought altogether.

If you’re looking for a silver lining to the punishing storms sweeping California, look no further than the state’s snowpack.

As of Tuesday, California’s mountain snow held more than twice the water content that’s considered average for this time of year…

Suddenly, California Has Too Much Water – the Atlantic

The storm-swollen San Lorenzo River floods land along Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz, California at right, on Monday January 9, 2023. MAGAZINES OUT © 2023 Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel

The state is being tossed between awful climate extremes.

In the Talmudic parable of Honi the Circle Maker, the drought-stricken people of Jerusalem send up a prayer that God should deliver them rain. And sure enough, after a few false starts, he does. Except that once the rain starts, it won’t let up. It pours and pours until the people are forced to flee to higher ground, their homes flooded by the answer to their prayer…