Ridin' out the Drought

Central Cali is immersed in a drought. About halfway through the wet season, Monterey has had only about four inches of rain...normal would be 8 or 9. This is the third straight year that moisture has been well below average in our region, and north thru the Bay area and south to San Luis Obispo. Reservoirs are low; water rationing looms.

Most types of extreme weather are short term wild in one way or another. Heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, floods; all have an immediate impact on us. Drought is different. It creeps in and slowly deepens. In many cases, it's barely perceptible; we have had enough rain this winter to pretty well green up the countryside; it doesn't look barren. But the rivers are trickles...or less. Ponds that are usually full at this time of year aren't. Here, at Carmel River beach, the lagoon is not connected to the ocean, and the river remains bone dry just a mile inland at highway 1.

Another characteristic of a drought is that the weather is not necessarily "bad" in the usual sense. Here on the Central Coast, quite the contrary; we're having one beautiful day after another. Today was crystal clear...so clear you can actually see the curvature of the earth in this photo! Temp in the low 60s, just fabulous! But we need some "lousy" weather this time of year...you can't drink sunshine!

We had a strong offshore flow today, coming out of the Carmel River valley and blowing off the tops of the waves. The pelican remained unflappable.