California’s Water Reservoirs Are Back, Baby! Here Are the Photos to Prove It

Last year , California ’s waterway were go away . The West was gripped by ahistoric megadroughtthat leave majorreservoirs at historic low , slashedhydropower , andmessed with green groceries prices .

But a series ofatmospheric riversdumped a ton of coke and water over the state , and thing are seem very different today .

As of April 6 , most of Central California and areas along the slide are no longer experiencing drouth conditions , according to theU.S. Drought Monitor . In fact , more than 56 % of the state has absolutely no form of drouth . It ’s not even abnormally wry in Central California anymore . Exactlyone twelvemonth ago , almost all of the state was experiencing extreme and severe drouth condition .

Photo: Josh Edelson (AP)

Lake water levels have rebounded imposingly . AtShasta Lake , California ’s largest body of water reservoir , piddle levels rose from 40 % of regular capacity last May to 85 % capacityas of April 5 . Other major reservoirs have see a comeback , too . This clock time last class , Lake Oroville stood at 48 % capacity , accord to Department of Water Resources data . But this week , the lake is at 83 % capacity .

The barrage of storms may have brought much needed water , but the result heavy implosion therapy was intensely destructive . Record levels of snow across California ’s mountainsthis twelvemonth will become snowmelt , which will carry on to feed California ’s watercourse . “ We know there will be flood as a resultant of the snowmelt , ” said Karla Nemeth , director of California Department of Water Resources said , harmonise to theAssociated Press . “ There ’s just too much snowmelt to be accommodated in our rivers and channels and preserve things between levees . ”

Here are some before - and - after exposure that show how much has shift in California from 2021 to 2023 .

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