The torrential rains that the American state is experiencing could soon overflow a dam near the former dry site of Lake Tulare.
A lake that has been dry for nearly 80 years will reappear in California where the torrential rains that have been falling for weeks risk overflowing local dams and reservoirs.
The Sacramento Area Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced Monday operations to transfer water that accumulates with rainfall at Pine Flat Dam in the Central Valley of County of Fresno to the former dry site of Lake Tulare.
“The flow of the rivers downstream of the dam will continue to increase,” explained in a press release the head of the association which manages the Kings River, Steve Haugen.
“The Kings River has been in flood for the past two to three weeks from all the storms we’ve had,” Randy McFarland, consultant for the management association, told local media.
“We haven’t had such a significant hydrological year since 1982 or 1983. This could be the largest ever recorded or observed in modern history,” he added.
Up to 80mm of rain and 120cm of snow on Tuesday
California, particularly in the central and southern regions, is seeing up to 80mm of coastal area precipitation on Tuesday and 120cm of snowfall in some places. Evacuation orders have also been issued in Tulare County where the former eponymous lake is located.
The US weather services have also warned of the risk of flooding from southern California to San Francisco.
An “atmospheric river” at the origin of precipitation
The western United States has been experiencing record snowfall and precipitation for weeks.
Recent storms in California are fed, like most others this season, by an “atmospheric river”, a gigantic corridor of rain that transports water vapor stored in the tropics, often around Hawaii.
While it is difficult to establish a direct link between these storms and climate change, scientists regularly explain that warming increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
