why is California always in a drought crisis, but landlocked states in the Midwest are not?
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Those states get a lot more rain. [Here are last year’s totals](https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/12cpcp0.png), for example. The Central Valley – the main agricultural center of California – was significantly drier than Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Dakotas, or Montana (the main arid Plains states) and even drier still than the midwest in a narrow sense (states like Ohio). It was a dry-ish year for California, but even then, [the average there is lower than it is for most of the plains](https://external-preview.redd.it/KNZ4ti083qJ467Oj-ebG4toaZH4VsgeAsZxEd7RES9Q.jpg?auto=webp&s=659a4f978f5b748b204f0ec96c52a3688ede5e0c). California has also had lower than previously long-term average rainfall for much of the last 20 years.
Combine low rainfall with California having far, FAR more people than the plains states (California has 254 people per square mile, while Oklahoma has 57), and you put a lot more strain on water resources.
If you’re asking for why the rainfall is lower from a climate perspective, the reason is that north and easterly-blowing winds off of the Gulf of Mexico meet cold air coming south from the Canadian Prairies over the central US, resulting in some of the most severe weather to be found anywhere on Earth. Those intense thunderstorms drop a lot of rain, fueled by tropical moisture from the Gulf.
California, on the other hand, is bordered by the cold Pacific Ocean, which does not evaporate nearly as much moisture; even the famously wet and gray coastal Bay Area does not actually get that much total rainfall (it’s just foggy and drizzles a lot). Rainfall in California has to travel much further, via “Pineapple Express” systems originating near Hawaii.
California’s got a special climate because it’s near the Pacific Ocean, so it has cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. In the winter, storms that form over the Pacific Ocean can bring significant rainfall to California. However, during the summer, the presence of a semi-permanent high-pressure system known as the Pacific High causes a dry season, with little to no rainfall occurring for several months. But that can also cause droughts if there isn’t enough rain, which happens a lot. The mountains in California make it tough for rain to reach further inland. Plus, people in California use a lot of water, making the droughts even worse.
On the flip side, the Midwest doesn’t have as many droughts because it gets rain all year round. Even though it’s not near an ocean, it’s in a spot where storms come through and bring rain. Also, the Midwest is pretty flat, so air can move around easily, making the weather more consistent.
Those states get a lot more rain. [Here are last year’s totals](https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/12cpcp0.png), for example. The Central Valley – the main agricultural center of California – was significantly drier than Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Dakotas, or Montana (the main arid Plains states) and even drier still than the midwest in a narrow sense (states like Ohio). It was a dry-ish year for California, but even then, [the average there is lower than it is for most of the plains](https://external-preview.redd.it/KNZ4ti083qJ467Oj-ebG4toaZH4VsgeAsZxEd7RES9Q.jpg?auto=webp&s=659a4f978f5b748b204f0ec96c52a3688ede5e0c). California has also had lower than previously long-term average rainfall for much of the last 20 years.
Combine low rainfall with California having far, FAR more people than the plains states (California has 254 people per square mile, while Oklahoma has 57), and you put a lot more strain on water resources.
If you’re asking for why the rainfall is lower from a climate perspective, the reason is that north and easterly-blowing winds off of the Gulf of Mexico meet cold air coming south from the Canadian Prairies over the central US, resulting in some of the most severe weather to be found anywhere on Earth. Those intense thunderstorms drop a lot of rain, fueled by tropical moisture from the Gulf.
California, on the other hand, is bordered by the cold Pacific Ocean, which does not evaporate nearly as much moisture; even the famously wet and gray coastal Bay Area does not actually get that much total rainfall (it’s just foggy and drizzles a lot). Rainfall in California has to travel much further, via “Pineapple Express” systems originating near Hawaii.
Those states get a lot more rain. [Here are last year’s totals](https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/12cpcp0.png), for example. The Central Valley – the main agricultural center of California – was significantly drier than Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Dakotas, or Montana (the main arid Plains states) and even drier still than the midwest in a narrow sense (states like Ohio). It was a dry-ish year for California, but even then, [the average there is lower than it is for most of the plains](https://external-preview.redd.it/KNZ4ti083qJ467Oj-ebG4toaZH4VsgeAsZxEd7RES9Q.jpg?auto=webp&s=659a4f978f5b748b204f0ec96c52a3688ede5e0c). California has also had lower than previously long-term average rainfall for much of the last 20 years.
Combine low rainfall with California having far, FAR more people than the plains states (California has 254 people per square mile, while Oklahoma has 57), and you put a lot more strain on water resources.
If you’re asking for why the rainfall is lower from a climate perspective, the reason is that north and easterly-blowing winds off of the Gulf of Mexico meet cold air coming south from the Canadian Prairies over the central US, resulting in some of the most severe weather to be found anywhere on Earth. Those intense thunderstorms drop a lot of rain, fueled by tropical moisture from the Gulf.
California, on the other hand, is bordered by the cold Pacific Ocean, which does not evaporate nearly as much moisture; even the famously wet and gray coastal Bay Area does not actually get that much total rainfall (it’s just foggy and drizzles a lot). Rainfall in California has to travel much further, via “Pineapple Express” systems originating near Hawaii.
California’s got a special climate because it’s near the Pacific Ocean, so it has cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. In the winter, storms that form over the Pacific Ocean can bring significant rainfall to California. However, during the summer, the presence of a semi-permanent high-pressure system known as the Pacific High causes a dry season, with little to no rainfall occurring for several months. But that can also cause droughts if there isn’t enough rain, which happens a lot. The mountains in California make it tough for rain to reach further inland. Plus, people in California use a lot of water, making the droughts even worse.
On the flip side, the Midwest doesn’t have as many droughts because it gets rain all year round. Even though it’s not near an ocean, it’s in a spot where storms come through and bring rain. Also, the Midwest is pretty flat, so air can move around easily, making the weather more consistent.
California’s got a special climate because it’s near the Pacific Ocean, so it has cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. In the winter, storms that form over the Pacific Ocean can bring significant rainfall to California. However, during the summer, the presence of a semi-permanent high-pressure system known as the Pacific High causes a dry season, with little to no rainfall occurring for several months. But that can also cause droughts if there isn’t enough rain, which happens a lot. The mountains in California make it tough for rain to reach further inland. Plus, people in California use a lot of water, making the droughts even worse.
On the flip side, the Midwest doesn’t have as many droughts because it gets rain all year round. Even though it’s not near an ocean, it’s in a spot where storms come through and bring rain. Also, the Midwest is pretty flat, so air can move around easily, making the weather more consistent.
It’s the almonds, isn’t it?
It’s the almonds, isn’t it?
It’s the almonds, isn’t it?
Because California already had a weird, borderline climate not found in many places on earth (mostly along the coasts of the Mediterranean, and also some parts of Australia) that’s on the edge between a desert and something more temperate, and now it’s turning into just an actual desert because of both global, and local human-made climate change.
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