Snowcapped mountains stand behind the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California, following heavy rains during winter storms. AFP
Snowcapped mountains stand behind the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California, following heavy rains during winter storms. AFP
The National Weather Service's Los Angeles office had not issued a blizzard warning since 1989. EPA
The National Weather Service's Los Angeles office had not issued a blizzard warning since 1989. EPA
Tremendous rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought, but low groundwater levels remain a persistent problem. AP
Tremendous rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought, but low groundwater levels remain a persistent problem. AP
Mountainous areas of California experienced nearly unprecedented snowfall accumulations. AP
Mountainous areas of California experienced nearly unprecedented snowfall accumulations. AP
Two palms trees stand in front of snow-covered mountains in Hesperia, California. AP
Two palms trees stand in front of snow-covered mountains in Hesperia, California. AP
A pair of residents at the Cedar Park apartments in Grass Valley take a break from shovelling snow during another blizzard earlier this week. AP
A pair of residents at the Cedar Park apartments in Grass Valley take a break from shovelling snow during another blizzard earlier this week. AP
A tree toppled by high winds crushed a car in Los Angeles. EPA
A tree toppled by high winds crushed a car in Los Angeles. EPA
A river swells during heavy rain and snow in Los Angeles. EPA
A river swells during heavy rain and snow in Los Angeles. EPA
A Joshua tree is covered in snow near the Cajon Pass in Oak Hills. AP
A Joshua tree is covered in snow near the Cajon Pass in Oak Hills. AP
Vehicles make their way along the I-15 as clouds pass through the snow-covered mountains near Hesperia. AP
Vehicles make their way along the I-15 as clouds pass through the snow-covered mountains near Hesperia. AP
Emergency crews are scrambling to shuttle food and medicine to residents of California mountain communities stranded by back-to-back winter storms. AP
Emergency crews are scrambling to shuttle food and medicine to residents of California mountain communities stranded by back-to-back winter storms. AP
Tents at Curry Village in Yosemite National Park seen covered with snow. AP
Tents at Curry Village in Yosemite National Park seen covered with snow. AP
Yosemite National Park, closed due to heavy snow, postponed its planned March 2 reopening indefinitely. AP
Yosemite National Park, closed due to heavy snow, postponed its planned March 2 reopening indefinitely. AP
This remote camera image shows a bald eagle warming its eggs in a nest near Big Bear Lake in southern California. AP
This remote camera image shows a bald eagle warming its eggs in a nest near Big Bear Lake in southern California. AP
Record rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought. AP
Record rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought. AP
Recent rain and snow have provided relief to parched California. AP Graphic
Recent rain and snow have provided relief to parched California. AP Graphic

World

US

Historic weather eases drought in California but water woes continue

Cloud bands and ‘epic’ snowfalls have helped to temporarily lift parts of California out of drought

Willy Lowry
Willy Lowry
Washington

March 22, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

From the street, it is difficult to see Theresa May Duggan’s picturesque home in Tahoe Vista, California.

Its black roof barely pokes out from underneath piles and piles of pillowy snow that has engulfed this part of northern California for months.

“It was epic to start [with] and that was in January,” said Ms Duggan, 72, a community organiser. “Then in February, it became biblical and now, honestly, it's almost apocalyptic.”

She has lived in Tahoe Vista since 1977 and has never seen a winter like this year. The snow easily reaches her second floor and she has had to shovel out her ground-floor windows to avoid feeling buried.

Theresa May Duggan's home in Tahoe Vista, California. Photo: Theresa May Duggan
Theresa May Duggan's home in Tahoe Vista, California. Photo: Theresa May Duggan

“If you can't see out your windows, it's bad,” Ms Duggan told The National. “It is really claustrophobic and that's where cabin fever can get you.”

For Kristopher Taylor, 30, an avid snowboarder, this winter has been a dream, but there is so much snow on his condo building in Truckee, California, that he is worried it may not be able to withstand much more.

“Things look like they're about to break,” he told The National.

California has been hit by a deluge of rain and snow in the past few months.

Since December, the state has been hit by 14 cloud bands, phenomena where a plume of condensed water vapour that can stretch thousands of kilometres drops a significant amount of rain in a short period.

The inclement weather has wreaked havoc on the state’s infrastructure, flooding roads, breaking levees and plunging thousands into darkness as electricity has been cut in many places.

The mountains, which have long been starved of moisture, have received record snowfalls.

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, which cuts diagonally down much of inner California, is up more than 220 per cent of normal.

The University of California, Berkeley's Central Sierra Snow Lab, which has been measuring snowfall in the Sierra Nevada since 1946, has recorded 17.2 metres, the second-highest on record.

The precipitation has come at a much-needed time in the state’s history as much of the West Coast is dealing with a years-long drought.

“I would say that from most perspectives, this most recent drought is now over,” said Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, whose work mainly focuses on water resources.

“But there are still some legacies from that drought. We still have lower groundwater levels in some parts of the state.”

The earth has been parched for so long, that even a record year of rain is not enough to get California out of trouble for long.

“We've been overdrafting some parts of California's aquifer systems for probably 50 years or more,” Prof Lund told The National.

“This year's wetness is good but it's certainly not going to solve that problem by itself.”

And while this winter has gone a long way in helping many parts of California, the nearby Colorado River, which provides water for 40 million people including six other western states, remains in a decades-long drought.

An aerial shot of a depleted reservoir on Grand Mesa outside Grand Junction, Colorado. Janie VanWinkle relies on the reservoir to feed her cattle.
An aerial shot of a depleted reservoir on Grand Mesa outside Grand Junction, Colorado. Janie VanWinkle relies on the reservoir to feed her cattle.
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the other, they haven’t.
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the other, they haven’t.
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado.
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado.
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch shows how dry conditions have become. Down the hill, where the grass is green, shows the difference irrigation makes.
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch shows how dry conditions have become. Down the hill, where the grass is green, shows the difference irrigation makes.
Frank Nieslanik poses next to produce grown on his farm. He’s farmed the land for 30 years and has never seen it so dry.
Frank Nieslanik poses next to produce grown on his farm. He’s farmed the land for 30 years and has never seen it so dry.
An aerial view of an irrigation canal on Frank Nieslanik’s farm shows the difference water makes to crops.
An aerial view of an irrigation canal on Frank Nieslanik’s farm shows the difference water makes to crops.
Farm workers sow a field at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
Farm workers sow a field at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch outside Grand Junction, Colorado, shows how dry conditions have become.
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch outside Grand Junction, Colorado, shows how dry conditions have become.
Keith Musselman, a scientist at the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, looks out towards the continental divide.
Keith Musselman, a scientist at the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, looks out towards the continental divide.
Produce from Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
Produce from Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
A view from the top of Grand Mesa overlooking the dry Western Slope of Colorado. In July, the state’s governor declared a drought emergency.
A view from the top of Grand Mesa overlooking the dry Western Slope of Colorado. In July, the state’s governor declared a drought emergency.
Janie VanWinkle drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
Janie VanWinkle drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
Snow still graces the top of a peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Snowpack from the mountains is vital to the health of the Colorado River, which provides water to 40 million people in the American South-West and Mexico.
Snow still graces the top of a peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Snowpack from the mountains is vital to the health of the Colorado River, which provides water to 40 million people in the American South-West and Mexico.
An irrigation canal runs through a farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The area is famous for its cattle and produce.
An irrigation canal runs through a farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The area is famous for its cattle and produce.
A view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the otherside, they haven’t.
A view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the otherside, they haven’t.
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
An untapped irrigation pipe at one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family graze their cattle on.
An untapped irrigation pipe at one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family graze their cattle on.
Janie Van Winkle’s husband, Howard, drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
Janie Van Winkle’s husband, Howard, drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
A field is irrigated at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
A field is irrigated at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
A winding portion of the Colorado River.
A winding portion of the Colorado River.
A depleted reservoir high on top of Grand Mesa near Grand Junction, Colorado.
A depleted reservoir high on top of Grand Mesa near Grand Junction, Colorado.
A cow stands on a dry patch of grass on one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family use to graze them on.
A cow stands on a dry patch of grass on one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family use to graze them on.
A stretch of the Colorado River, near the river’s headwaters.
A stretch of the Colorado River, near the river’s headwaters.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the country’s two largest reservoirs, fed by the Colorado River, are also at record low levels.

“We're in the 23rd year of drought and the reservoirs have gone from almost completely full to almost 75 per cent empty,” said Robert Glennon, a professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, who wrote Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What to do about it.

Mr Glennon believes Americans need to alter their perception and consumption of water if the country is to avoid a “train wreck".

“We Americans are spoiled,” he told The National. “We wake up in the morning and turn on a tap and out comes as much water as we want for less than we pay for cellphone service or for cable television.”

He said that has to change, and even a good year will not make up for decades of bad ones.

T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures

Tuesday, October 29

Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE

Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman

Wednesday, October 30

Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one

Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two

Thursday, October 31

Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four

Friday, November 1

Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one

Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two

Saturday, November 2

Third-place playoff, 2.10pm

Final, 7.30pm

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
While you're here
'My Son'

Director: Christian Carion

Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

Rating: 2/5

On Women's Day
How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh209,000 

On sale: now

Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Napoleon
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Ridley%20Scott%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Joaquin%20Phoenix%2C%20Vanessa%20Kirby%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury

Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')

Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)

Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

While you're here
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOlive%20Gaea%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vivek%20Tripathi%2C%20Jessica%20Scopacasa%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20World%20Trade%20Centre%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Climate-Tech%2C%20Sustainability%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECornerstone%20Venture%20Partners%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
%3Cp%3EThe%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20-%20Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Arabic%20Language%20Centre%20will%20mark%20International%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Day%20at%20the%20Bologna%20Children's%20Book%20Fair%20with%20the%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Translation%20Conference.%20Prolific%20Emirati%20author%20Noora%20Al%20Shammari%2C%20who%20has%20written%20eight%20books%20that%20%20feature%20in%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Education's%20curriculum%2C%20will%20appear%20in%20a%20session%20on%20Wednesday%20to%20discuss%20the%20challenges%20women%20face%20in%20getting%20their%20works%20translated.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Brighton 1
Gross (50' pen)

Tottenham 1
Kane (48)

South and West: From a Notebook
Joan Didion
Fourth Estate 

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Essentials

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours. 

The package

Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Plastic tipping points
Updated: March 22, 2023, 2:30 AM`
USCaliforniaDroughtWeather

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