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Will this week's rain in San Diego impact the drought?

National Weather Service San Diego said despite the few tenths of an inch of rain expected Tuesday, it's not enough to get the county out of a future water deficit.

SAN DIEGO — California is thirsty for any precipitation and San Diego may get some relief on Tuesday. A few tenths of an inch are expected to fall in San Diego, just days after parts of the county hit a record high temperature of 91 degrees. Now, we're looksing at a 30 degree drop in the forecast from Saturday to Tuesday. 

“This is definitely a roller coaster weather pattern,” said Alex Tardy, National Weather Service Meteorologist, San Diego.

He says despite the few tenths of an inch of rain expected on Tuesday, it's not enough to get the county out of a future water deficit. 

“The rain and snow we get tomorrow [Tuesday], and end of February and the cooler temperatures are great timing but they're not going to reverse the damage of missing all of January and most of February," said Tardy. 

While rain soaked San Diego and the entire state in December, the Sierra is in the midst of a record dry-spell. There's hasn't been any snow in Lake Tahoe, Mammoth and Big Bear since January 1.

“If you miss January and February, you're really setting yourself up for early fire weather season. And you're setting yourself up to drought conditions or certainly not improving the drought conditions,” said Tardy.

The snowpack went from 130% in December to 75% today.

“If we do not get more storms, then we may see water use restrictions coming back, and especially if the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada doesn't hold until the late spring into summer,” said Zhi-Yong Yin, University of San Diego Professor of Environmental and Ocean Sciences.

He says most of the state is out of the severe drought but we could easily fall right back.

Some people are throwing around a ‘March Miracle,' a term coined in the 1990’s when California faced a 5-year drought. It would take 25 to 30 inches of rain from the mountains to create a March Miracle.

“If we get to more rain it'll be a miracle. But I wouldn't hold my breath for it,” said Yin.

Since it is expected to rain on Tuesday, remember in January the California State Water Resource Control Board implemented emergency water restrictions. One of them prohibits watering lawns or landscape two days after a rain or a face $500 fine.

Other restrictions include:

Emergency Regulation Requirements:

  • Turn off decorative water fountains
  • Use an automatic shutoff nozzle on your water hose
  • Use a broom, not water, to clean sidewalks and driveways
  • Give trees just what they need: avoid overwatering

 

RELATED: Winter weather is making a comeback

RELATED: Did December's rain bring CA out of the drought?

Watch Related: Newsom declares drought emergency across California (Oct 20, 2021)

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