Satellite image of the bomb cyclone unleasing its fury over the Western United States. Credit found here.

California started off the New Year by turning its streets into rivers. At least 22 people were killed.

As 2022 ended, an atmospheric river washed over California causing a mega-storm that lasted almost three weeks. As rivers overflowed and levees failed, cities began to flood and thousands were forced to evacuate their homes. However, this “once in a lifetime” event was just one of many climate disasters that have occurred in this season alone. In December, most of the US and part of Canada experienced a winter storm that swept from coast to coast, and in January a series of off-season tornadoes traveled through the southern states. While these disasters were not solely caused by climate change, they were intensified by its effects.

Flooded fields in Santa Rosa, California on Jan. 9.Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In short, California was caught under the track of a jet stream, a current of fast-flowing eastward wind in the atmosphere. Located over the Pacific Ocean, this jet stream acted as a conveyor belt for the storms in California as it passed through the tropics picking up moisture in the air. This created an atmospheric river that dumped excessive amounts of water all over the state causing an estimated $1 billion in damage. As a result, rivers overflowed and surrounding areas experienced mudslides, power outages, and flash flooding. While cities on top of floodplains and scorched areas from previous wildfires were hit especially hard, all of California was put at risk due to its long history of severe drought.

California’s pattern of long periods of drought followed by large amounts of rain can be linked to a warming climate. Rising temperatures contribute to a phenomenon known as “evaporative demand,” where the atmosphere essentially absorbs moisture from its surroundings. Warmer temperatures enable these storms by increasing the amount of available water that evaporates into the air. As a result, California is expected to experience a 25% to 100% increase in its pattern of extremely dry summers followed by extremely wet winters. Herein lies a major problem: California is only equipped to handle the effects of drought, and if more rain is to come, new policies need to be adopted to account for both occasions.

The storms brought so much water to California that its current infrastructure could not handle it. Instead, the dams, levees, and reservoirs that were breached flooded into cities, and the ones that were not had to be drained — an unfathomable action to drought-minded Californians. If California had enough up-to-date water infrastructure, the excess water could have been saved for future droughts. Instead, it displaced countless people ravaging homes, communities, and wildlife. The storms’ runoff also became contaminated as it swept through cities, which prevented it from being turned into clean drinking water. A potential solution to this problem would be to rebuild levees farther back along major rivers, which would give overflowing waters more room to roam.

There are some problems with updating water infrastructure though, as the majority of levees in California are privately owned and maintained, and the state-owned ones come with a large price tag. And since 84% of California’s water system is paid for through local utility taxes, it may seem like investing in infrastructure would come out of the pockets of its citizens. However, this is not the whole picture. Governor Newsom recently proposed a new budget for California’s water system that would delay funding for watershed resilience programs and cleanup projects, reallocating that money into various new ones. This includes flood risk reduction, drought contingency, and modernizing water rights. While funding for these projects does come from taxpayer dollars, this reallocation of money means that bills won’t necessarily go up. And if they do, it won’t be as much as we think. These new projects will also have so many benefits. Not only will updated infrastructure prevent floods, but also maximize our water supply for wildfires and drought, saving cities, homes, and lives. This is why investing in updated water infrastructure would pay off in the long run.

Flooding that occurred following levee breaks in Wilton, a farming community near Sacramento, CA. Credit found here.

It’s also time for Californians to invest in flood insurance. While over 90% of California was under flood watch, only about 2% of its homeowners are insured. Many don’t even realize that their homeowners insurance doesn’t cover it. As of now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires flood insurance for those in flood hazard zones, but that policy only applies to properties with unfinished mortgages and is vastly unreinforced due to its price. While the amount of homeowners who buy insurance always rises after disasters happen, these storms show us the consequences of not being insured. Instead, homeowners now have to deal with both the costs of damage in addition to buying insurance afterward.

So far, California has made progress. Recently, Governor Newsom called for speeding up the permitting process for water storage and flood reduction projects in addition to proposing $200 million in flood protection. A separate request by Newsom was also approved by President Biden for disaster declaration grants in the counties of Santa Cruz, Merced, and Sacramento. These grants will help those displaced by the storms.

California is also working on a new project called the Sites Reservoir. The Sites Reservoir describes itself as a “flexible storage solution,” because it’s designed to capture excess water from storms instead of just from snowpack. This will allow Sacramento Valley and its surrounding areas to utilize all of its sources of water for times of drought, which is especially important as the economy of the central valley is based upon agriculture.

A map of the prospective Sites Reservoir Project, courtesy of the NCWA.

These flood infrastructure and insurance policies may seem like an expensive investment in a state where people’s biggest fears are drought and wildfires, but why focus on damage control when we have the ability to prevent it altogether? The damage done this season reveals how deadly these storms can be when we aren't properly prepared. Investing in flood prevention will save lives.

That’s why it’s so important to remember what our climate future looks like. Not only are California’s whiplash events expected to intensify, but so are extreme weather patterns around the world. This set of storms killed 22 people alone, but future deaths are preventable. We only have to take action before the cycle repeats itself.

Edited by Jonathan Sunkari

New Year's Storms Reveal where California Falls Short