Dan Cayan News Today

It’s good news for California’s water supply. There are 64 feet of snow in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, which will eventually melt into the state’s rivers and reservoirs. In other news, the condition of San Diego's streets is getting worse, and as the cost of road maintenance keeps going up, some advocates are asking for a new approach. Plus, students from San Diego's underserved mid-city neighborhoods are using performing arts to improve their mental health and self-confidence...

But the impact of climate change is also important to remember, according to climate researcher Dan Cayan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Big waves crashed into the Southern California coastline on Thursday as the region felt the effect of a storm thousands of miles away. Researchers say wave events will happen more often as the climate warms.

The man who bribed scores of Navy officers over two decades then escaped from house arrest in San Diego more than a year ago, is back and was in court Wednesday. In other news, some University of California San Diego postdoctoral scholars are facing the threat of deportation later this month. Plus, details on some of the arts events that are in store for San Diego County this year.

California water officials measured about a quarter of the snowpack they would expect to see this time of year after a mostly dry December failed to deliver precipitation. Two incoming storms may help.

El Niño and La Niña are natural climate phenomena that alter weather patterns around the world. El Niño occurs irregularly but shows up roughly every three to seven years and typically lasts between nine and 12 months with occasional exceptions that linger for multiple years.

This periodically recurring atmospheric phenomenon in recent years has become just too unreliable to count on. 

California electricity grid managers said they are not yet seeing the same heat-related stress on the power system as they saw last year. Still, there are concerns trouble could arise as more summer heat bakes San Diego.

Several storms have rolled through California. Multiple factors, in addition to La Niña, contributed to months of rain and snow across the state.

The Pacific Ocean is bidding farewell to a three-year La Niña condition and preparing to welcome the return of El Niño.