I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,

From the seas and the streams;

I bear light shade for the leaves when laid

In their noonday dreams …

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Cloud”

A quiet spring rain fell in the still of night last weekend. By morning its traces had evaporated, except for the .10 inches collected by our rain gauge. We ask, as the rainy season is nearing its end, “Is the drought really over?” The answer depends on the source of the proclamation, your geographical location and water source. Without those facts, an answer could be inaccurate and irresponsible.

On Friday, April 7 – Gov. Jerry Brown officially declared, “The long California drought is over.” An executive order was issued ending the drought emergency. In summary, he mentioned the possibility the next drought could be “around the corner” and “water conservation must remain a way of life.” Declaring the drought over, while parts of California are desert, is short-sighted and misleading.

There are three deserts in California: the Mojave, the Colorado and the Great Basin. Our climate and weather is influenced by the proximity of the Mojave Desert. As the “crow flies” (north over the San Gabriel Mountains,) La Crescenta is just 25 miles away. That same crow could fly 21 miles and join the sea gulls along the Pacific Coast. We live pretty much on the border between two climatic regions: our backyard, a hot and arid desert, and our front yard, a semi-arid and cooler Mediterranean-type coastline. Depending on which way the wind blows on any given day, the weather follows accordingly. So given this geographical situation, drought is more common than not.

“The prophet of California climate” Bill Patzert – climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena – is considered the ultimate authority on climate and water usage. According to him, the population has outgrown the water supply. Although the Crescenta Valley supplies much of its own water from local wells, most of LA County relies on a 65% to 70% import. According to tree rings, the 20th century was the wettest in 2,000 years. He claims, “We have built a civilization, which is the sixth- or seventh-largest economy in the world, based on imported water in a wet century.”

In the north, reservoirs are full and the snowpack deep, but for us drought remains a way of life.

The Easter and Passover weather forecast is up in the air, with possible spring showers and cool northerly winds. Weekend temperature should reach the mid-70s, without much change into next week.

Happy Easter and Pesach Sameach

Sue Kilpatrick is a

Crescenta Valley resident and

Official Skywarn Spotter for the

National Weather Service. Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.