(Los Angeles) A lake dried up nearly 80 years ago will reappear in California as the torrential rains that have been falling for weeks overflow dams and local reservoirs.
The Army Corps of Engineers in the Sacramento District (USACE) announced Monday transfers of water that accumulates as rainfall at Pine Flat Dam in the middle valley of Fresno County to the formerly dry site of Lake Tulare.
“The flow of the rivers downstream of the dam will continue to increase,” Steve Hogin, president of the association that manages the Kings River, explained.
“The Kings River has been flooding the last two or three weeks because of all the storms we’ve had,” Randy McFarland, a management union advisor, told local media.
“We have not seen such an important hydrological year since 1982 or 1983. This may be the largest year recorded or observed in recent history,” he added.
California, particularly the central and southern regions, will see up to 80 mm of rain in the coastal region on Tuesday and 120 cm of snowfall in some places.
Evacuation orders were also issued in Tulare County, where the ancient lake of the same name is located.
The US weather service also warned of flood risks from southern California to San Francisco.
In the mountains, where winds can blow strongly, which can lead to downed power lines.
The western United States has been seeing record-breaking snow and precipitation for weeks.
The latest storms in California, like most of the others this season, are fueled by an “atmospheric river,” a giant corridor of rain carrying 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.
