Written by by Charles Rotter at wattsupwiththat.com
Hydrological Drought, as opposed to Meteorological Drought, is the deus ex machina of California drought mongers
I grew up in California. Since the mid 1970’s the phrase “but the drought’s not over” became so repetitive in state government and media communications that it was a running joke for more than four decades between my brother and I, until he finally passed away. This drumbeat began long before “Climate Change” or “Global Warming” became widespread issues of concern. The corollary to “but the drought’s not over” was the proclamation by government and media every single late spring or early summer that:
“Because we had X winter, it’s going to a bad fire season”
X could be dry: dehydrated conditions susceptible to easy ignition.
X could be wet: Overgrowth of brush will turbocharge fires with excessive fuel.
Here’s the conditions today vs. three years ago. Use the slider to see the difference.