Text Products for DGT Issued by EKA

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Eureka, CA
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AXUS76 KEKA 091105
DGTEKA

Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Eureka CA
405 AM PDT Sat Oct 9 2021

...DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSIST ACROSS NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA...

.SYNOPSIS...The drought intensity ranges from moderate drought (D2)
in Del Norte County to exceptional drought (D4) in Lake County and
southern Mendocino county. The area of  extreme drought (D3)
continues to cover much of in Humboldt county, all of Trinity county
and northern Mendocino county.

.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... Two years of below-normal rainfall and a
depleted snowpack have resulted in poor streamflow on mainstem
watersheds and tributaries  dried up earlier than normal. Most
rivers and streams with long term records are showing flows in the
lowest 10th percentile for this date.

The Hoopa Tribe reported much lower than normal flow on the streams
and creeks that provide water to the villages. This has led to
closing the Pecwan Laundromat and voluntary water restrictions since
late June.

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, although
typical for this time of year in many area rivers, is more
widespread and developed earlier than normal. There have been
reports of pets getting sick and dying from this.

The two biggest Northwest California reservoirs are much below
normal. Trinity Lake is down to 41% of average capacity and Lake
Mendocino is down to 26% of average capacity.

Record low flows on the Noyo River are requiring the City of Fort
Bragg to implement water restrictions as of the middle of July and
stop selling to other entities such as the town of Mendocino. This
has created water shortages and some communities are starting to
truck in water.

An annual disease assessment by the Yurok Fisheries Department
reported that 97 percent of juvenile salmon captured on the Klamath
River in early May were infected with a deadly pathogen (C. Shasta).
Widespread disease, with no planned restoration releases, is setting
the stage for a massive juvenile fish kill on the Klamath River. To
mitigate the drought and poor water conditions, baby salmon in the
Iron Gate Hatchery were moved to the Trinity River Hatchery for the
first time since 1962. The fish will be held there until water
conditions improve.

Fuel moisture remains drier than normal for this time of year for
the southern part of the area. This has led to increased fire
danger. Recent rains in the northern part of the area did little to
impact the drought levels, though the much needed precipitation has
helped to limit the overall fire danger in the northern part of the
area.

.CLIMATE SUMMARY...
Lake, Mendocino, and Trinity counties ranged between 25 to 50
percent of normal precipitation for the 2020/2021 water year.
Counties to the north are a little better off but still below
normal, with Humboldt County at 50 to 70 percent of normal and Del
Norte County at 70 to 80 percent of normal.

.PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...
The Climate Prediction Center 3-month outlook for October through
December shows equal chance for below or above normal precipitation
across much of the area. The exception is Del Norte and northern
Humboldt counties, which is now leaning above normal precipitation.
The rest of the state is either equal chances or leaning below
normal.

.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...
The next product update will be issued as needed in response to
significant changes in conditions.

&&

.RELATED WEBSITES... Yurok Tribal News:
https://www.yuroktribe.org/tribal-news California Data Exchange
Center: http://cdec.water.ca.gov California Nevada River Forecast
Center: https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov Drought Monitor:
https://drought.unl.edu California Drought Page:
https://water.ca.gov/water-basics/drought Climate Prediction Center:
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov Association of California Water
Agencies: https://www.acwa.com NWS Eureka:
https://www.weather.gov/eka/

.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... Climate Prediction
Center, U.S. Drought Monitor, California Nevada  River Forecast
Center, Department of Water Resources, California  State
Climatologist, US Bureau of Reclamation, Cal Fire Association  of
California, area water agencies, and local cities and counties
.QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS... Please refer all questions to
eka.hydro@noaa.gov.

$$
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
