RIVERSIDE – One respected climatologist is predicting an end to the 6-year-old California drought.

Richard Minnich, an earth sciences professor at UC Riverside, says the series of storms that began with the New Year is not going away.

“The next week or so is going to be pretty wild,” Minnich said. “Believe me this is going to end the drought.”

Minnich predicts that the barrage of storms will continue through early March and that there is a danger of flooding throughout the state in the coming weeks.

However, the National Weather Service noted that there is still considerable precipitation needed to end the drought. It said the good news is that an average February and March
could bring our seasonal totals well above normal which is needed to make large improvement.

Beyond that, Minnich predicts the cycle of summer wildfires and winter rain will re-establish itself with the “pretty green grass turning into a big fire hazard this summer.”

Meantime, as winter storms continue to fill reservoirs and boost the snowpack, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has increased its estimate of this year’s State Water Project (SWP) supply from 45 to 60 percent of most requests

Story Date: February 11, 2017