It’s pretty easy to make this prognostication after California has been hit with a few huge rain event storms. It’s funny, though, because not that long ago we got
- Thanks El Niño, But California’s Drought Is Probably Forever
- California, ‘America’s garden,’ is drying out
- Is California entering a megadrought? Water experts weigh in
That last one was from 2022
Climate change will bring megafloods to California
Climate change is making it a matter of time before a megaflood hits the state.
The Santa Barbara police car blocked access to the bridge, lights flashing as the thundering, swollen brown river rampaged below. The water was running so high in this Southern California county that it gushed through the railings of the bridge, and poured out onto the road.
This region is familiar with water scarcity – usually battling extreme heatwaves, wildfires, and drought. Now, Southern California is confronting an overabundance of water, in the form of torrential rain and life-threatening floods. (snip)
And experts say that the frequency and intensity of these kinds of events will only increase. These severe floods in California are a “broadly underappreciated risk”, according to a 2022 paper, co-authored by Daniel Swain and Xingying Huang, scientists at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. (snip)
Climate change is increasing the risk of a California megaflood, Swain’s study warns. This extreme storm scenario would produce runoffs 200-400% greater than anything seen before in the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling 400-mile (650km) mountain range that traverses 24 of the 58 counties in California.
California does, in fact, have a long history of flood years, with a record going back to 1605 (that was during the Little Ice Age), just like with drought years. It’s the nature of where it is located on the Pacific Ocean. There was nothing anthropogenic about that 1605 flooding, right? That had 45 days of flooding in December 1861-January 1862. It’s just nature. You’re making it more dangerous now because of land use. All those buildings and roads.
But, as they start blaming the flooding on you, will it now flip back to drought, which they will also blame on you?
Read: Your Fault: Hotcoldwetdry Will Bring Megafloods To California »