Temps 10-25F Over Normal Across Most Of CA Today; What's Left Of Minimal Snowpack Going Fast

[hatrack]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=691
High temperature differences from normal Thursday forecast by the National Weather Service across the West. (WeatherBell)

It’s only early April but spring’s first substantial bout of hot weather is set to scorch large parts of California on Thursday. The pulse of heat should be fairly short-lived, lasting only a couple of days, but scores of records could fall between Thursday and Friday.
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The abnormally high temperatures are the result of a dome of high pressure sprawled over the western United States. Long-term warming from human-caused climate change also increases the frequency and intensity of such events.

The heat comes as April snowpack in the Sierra Nevada has dropped to one of its lowest levels in 70 years due to a record lack of precipitation in January, February and March. The high temperatures will further melt what little snow remains.

Link to tweet

The National Weather Service is predicting temperatures 10 to 25 degrees above normal over most of California on Thursday and Friday. The biggest differences from normal are forecast for the central and northern portions of the state. This equates to widespread high temperatures in the 80s and 90s, even along the coast on Thursday. Some of the hottest weather is projected for the Central Valley both Thursday and Friday, with record-setting highs from 90 to 95 degrees. Sacramento, Redding and Stockton could all approach or surpass records.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=691
National Weather Service forecast high temperatures on Thursday in California. Boxed values are predicted records. (WeatherBell)

EDIT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/06/california-record-heat-snowpack/

[hunter]

1. The last few summers in the Sierra foothills have been awful...

... with fire evacuations, smoke, wells drying up, etc.. (My in-laws have a home there.)

In the Central Valley a lot of farms are going into this summer as bare dirt, without any water to grow cover crops. The dust storms will be terrible.

A lot of these farmers irritate me. They put up signs that say "More Dams!" and blame Governor Newsom for the drought. It's not like building more dams will make rain to fill them, it's just the modern version of "[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_follows_the_plow|rain follows the plow" fallacy.

The "Pray for rain" signs are a little less offensive to me but not any more likely to solve fundamental water problems than building dams or recalling the governor.

[progree]

2. "record-setting highs from 90 to 95 degrees" in the Central Valley. In EARLY APRIL 👀 ⚠ /nt