CALIFORNIA - The Golden State has seen quite a few storms pass over its growing regions since the beginning of 2024. Flash floods and atmospheric rivers were an intense start to the year, but they have fended off a return to the drought, experts acknowledge. But what does this mean for the state of California's water supply for the rest of the year?

According to a report from NBC Los Angeles, while rainfall in Southern California reached historic levels, we still don’t know whether or not this year will be regarded as a very wet year for the state overall. Northern California is beginning to approach its annual average.

Jay R. Lund, Vice Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, remarked that for Northern California, it’s difficult for this region to approach ‘extremely wet’ levels, given the fact that we only have about a month and a half left of the wet season.

The snowpack has rebounded somewhat from a slow start, a promising outlook for a vital part of California’s water supply. In the middle of this week, February 21, the snowpack’s water was 86 percent of normal amounts to date and 69 percent of the April 1 average, when it is normally at its peak—according to the state Department of Water Resources.

The news report went on to note that, even with a slow start to the current rainy season, water storage in California’s major reservoirs has been well above average thanks to runoff from last year’s historic snowpack. The Department of Water Resources announced the State Water Project is forecasting public water agencies serving 27 million people will receive 15 percent of requested supplies, up from December's initial 10 percent allocation.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on California’s water supply, so stay tuned to ANUK.