Is the Western US Experiencing a Widespread Drought Crisis?

[Astronuc]

I've heard several reports on radio news programs that the drought is severe across the western US, and apparently particularly acute in California and Nevada, and I presume Arizona.

LOS ANGELES — The punishing drought that has swept California is now threatening the state’s drinking water supply.

With no sign of rain, 17 rural communities providing water to 40,000 people are in danger of running out within 60 to 120 days. State officials said that the number was likely to rise in the months ahead after the State Water Project, the main municipal water distribution system, announced on Friday that it did not have enough water to supplement the dwindling supplies of local agencies that provide water to an additional 25 million people. It is first time the project has turned off its spigot in its 54-year history.
. . . .

Ref: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/us/severe-drought-has-us-west-fearing-worst.html

What other areas in the US are suffering from drought?

 

[phyzguy]

Texas is hurting also. The reservoirs that supply central Texas are currently at 38% of capacity. The lowest they have ever been was at 31% in the 1950's, and they are forecast to go below that this summer unless some big rainfalls materialize. Unlike California, Texas has no snowfall to store water, so it is dependent on rain to keep the lakes full. Stream flows in the last few years have only been about 10-30% of the long term average. http://www.lcra.org/water/water-supply/drought-update/Pages/default.aspx is a website on the Texas drought problem if you are interested.

 

[Bobbywhy]

Here are two recent news articles plus the latest federal government's assessment of the drought in the Southwest:

Southwest’s Dwindling Water Supply
If Lake Mead drops below 1,000 feet above sea level, millions of people will lose their source of water. JAN. 5, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/06/us/southwests-water-supply.html?_r=0

The unprecedented water crisis of the American Southwest
A prolonged drought has sapped the once-vigorous Colorado River, threatening the water supply of millions. By The Week Staff | February 1, 2014
http://theweek.com/article/index/255814/the-unprecedented-water-crisis-of-the-american-southwest\U. S. Seasonal Drought Outlook, revisied 18 January, 2014
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.html

 

[klimatos]

Drought is part of California's natural climatological cycle. If you take the long view, the last century has been an unusually wet one, and a drier century not out of the question. Here's a relevant article:

http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2014/01/21/states-water-woes/

 

[Dembadon]

I live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This has been the driest winter in a long time. We've had only two snow storms, neither of which lasted very long, and maybe 3 rainy days. Twenty years ago I remember there being a few feet of snow on the ground by late October.

Here's a nice timeline from the people to whom I pay my water bill, showing lake levels over the last hundred years or so:

http://tmwa.com/lake_level

The ski resorts around here (there are a lot) have already taken huge losses for the season, given there wasn't any snow during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. There also won't be much water flow during the summer, so rafting the Truckee River might not even happen, which is another huge source of revenue for this small town.

 

[MathAmateur]

You are right. Arizona is real dry. We didn't even have a winter to speark of: No frost and little rain.