Day: October 8, 2023

The Latest Briefing – October 5, 2023 (#CO, #UT, #WY) is hot off the presses from Western Water Assessment

Click the link to read the briefing on the Western Water Assessment website:

October 5, 2023 – CO, UT, WY

Often a month of weather transitions, early September brought the last monsoonal storms of the season and by mid-month, the first snows fell over the region’s highest peaks. Overall, regional precipitation was a mix of wet and dry with the wettest conditions in Utah, southeastern Colorado and northeastern Wyoming. September temperatures were generally near average in the western portion of the region and above average in eastern Colorado and much of Wyoming. Regionally, drought conditions improved slightly, now covering 8% of the region with drought conditions present in eastern Utah and western Colorado. A moderate El Niño is expected to continue through spring, but does not provide any long-term guidance on winter precipitation. NOAA seasonal forecasts for October-December suggest equal chances of above or below average precipitation.

Regional precipitation during September was a mix of much-above normal and much-below normal. Both monsoonal thunderstorms and colder fall storms occurred during September. Greater than 150% of average precipitation was observed in southeastern Colorado, western Utah and northeastern Wyoming. Below average September precipitation was observed over most of Colorado, eastern Utah and southern Wyoming.

Temperatures in the Intermountain West were mostly near-normal in August, with above normal temperatures scattered throughout, particularly in Colorado. Near-normal temperatures  were observed in almost the entirety of Utah and Wyoming. Exceptions include pockets of above normal temperatures in eastern Utah and western Wyoming and pockets of below normal temperatures in western Utah where temperatures were up to 4-6°F below normal at the western edge of Tooele and Box Elder Counties. Colorado also experienced near-normal temperatures throughout much of the state; however, temperatures were 2-4°F above normal in the central to southern mountains.

The first accumulating snow fell across many mountain locations above 10,000 feet during two late September storms. [ed. emphasis mine] Snowfall from the September 22-23 storm quickly melted at all SNOTEL sites, but may remain for winter at the highest elevation north-facing locations in Colorado. A larger and colder storm that began on September 30, again caused accumulating snow at locations above 10,000 feet. Snow continued through the first two days of October; October weather will determine whether high elevation snow is here for the winter or merely a reminder of the upcoming seasonal change.

At the end of September, drought covered 8% of the region, a slight decrease from late August. Wyoming remains drought-free and regional drought is isolated to western Colorado and eastern Utah. In Utah, there was a 1-2 category improvement in drought conditions. In western Colorado, some locations experience a 1 category worsening of drought conditions. Regional drought conditions improved in most locations during summer; drought was removed from Wyoming, eastern Colorado and most of Utah. Summer was dry in eastern Utah and western Colorado; drought re-developed in this region after long-term drought was removed during late winter.

West Drought Monitor map October 3, 2023.

After much-above average winter precipitation and a wet summer in much of the region, regional rivers were generally flowing at near-normal levels during September. On a river-basin scale, September streamflow was normal or above normal in all river basins except the Upper Rio Grande River and Eagle River basin where September flows were below average.

An El Niño advisory remained in place during September as eastern Pacific Ocean sea-surface temperatures warmed to the level of moderate El Niño conditions. El Niño conditions are projected to remain in place through late spring; there is greater than a 75% chance of El Niño conditions continuing through the March-May forecast period. The NOAA monthly outlook for October suggests an increased probability of above average precipitation and above average temperatures for the entire region. The NOAA seasonal outlook for October-December suggests an increased probability of above average temperatures for the western portion of the region. Considering the presence of a moderate El Niño, it is somewhat surprising that the NOAA seasonal forecast suggests equal chances of above or below average precipitation for the entire region. El Niño conditions often bring above winter-average precipitation to southern Utah and southwestern Colorado.

September weather event. Labor Day monsoonal moisture. A surge of monsoonal moisture impacted Utah over Labor Day weekend (9/1-9/4), especially southwestern Utah. Three-day rainfall totals in southwestern Utah ranged from 1.5-4”. St. George received 3.83” of rain during the first three days of September. By month’s end, the 2023 water year in St. George was the wettest on record with 15.83” of precipitation, surpassing the 15.77” of precipitation that fell in 1932. The monsoonal thunderstorms pushed into northern Utah on 9/4 where up to 1.9” of rain fell and daily records were broken at 19 locations with at least 50 years of weather data. Looking back at the 2023 monsoon season (July-September), the western two-thirds of Utah and most of Wyoming experienced above average precipitation. Monsoonal precipitation was below average over most of Colorado and Montrose saw its driest July-September on record. Elsewhere in the Southwest, monsoonal precipitation was very low in most of Arizona and New Mexico; July-September 2023 was the driest on record for Phoenix. Tropical Storm Hilary was a major contributor to much-above normal July-September precipitation in southern California, Nevada, northwestern Utah and southern Idaho.

After 100 years, #Nebraska revives plans to build a canal, stirring controversy with #Colorado — Nebraska Public Media #SouthPlatteRiver

South Platte River at Goodrich, Colorado, Sunday, November 15, 2020. Photo credit: Allen Best

Click the link to read the article on the Nebraska Public Media website (Fred Knapp). Here’s an excerpt:

…at the beginning of last year. Speaking to the Nebraska Legislature, then-Gov. Pete Ricketts outlined a plan.

“To secure Nebraska’s water supply I am recommending $500 million to construct a canal and water reservoir system from the South Platte River. Access to this water enables our farmers and ranchers to produce. It provides for quality drinking water, and keeps electric generation costs manageable,” Ricketts said.

That $500 million proposal has now grown to $628 million. To put that in perspective, that’s nearly twice the cost of the new prison Nebraska is planning to build. In a news conference, Ricketts claimed Colorado was violating an interstate compact with Nebraska.

“During the non-irrigation season, Colorado has not been providing us the water that is called for under the Compact. Their near-term goals show that going down, and should all the long-term goals be effected, they would reduce the amount of water flows coming to the state of Nebraska by 90 percent,” he said.

Responding to Ricketts, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis insisted that state is fulfilling its obligations to Nebraska. Speaking to members of the Colorado General Assembly, he struck a defiant note, as reported by CBS News Colorado.

“Know this: We will continue to protect and aggressively assert Colorado’s water rights under all existing water compacts,” Polis said.

A Polis spokesman described the Perkins proposal as a “canal to nowhere” and a “boondoggle.” Whether the canal is a good idea or not, it’s one that’s been around for a long time. Perkins County farmers actually started digging an irrigation canal in Colorado in 1894, but gave up within a year after promoters ran out of money.

People work on the Perkins County Canal in the 1890s. The project eventually was abandoned due to financial troubles. But remnants are still visible near Julesburg. Perkins County Historical Society

Commentary: Suing for a livable planet, young people are filing lawsuits for #climate damage — and some are even winning — #Colorado Newsline #ActOnClimate

An oil pump jack is pictured in the middle of a traffic circle at a new residential development in Weld County, Colo. on June 24, 2020. (Andy Bosselman for Newsline)

Click the link to read the commentary on the Colorado Newsline website (Farrah Hassaen):

This commentary originally appeared at OtherWords.

Across the globe, people are turning to the courts to combat the worsening climate emergency. Since 2015, cases around the world have doubled to over 2,000, according to a recent United Nations report.

They are also on the rise in the United States.

In a landmark trial in Montana, a judge ruled this summer that the state had violated the young plaintiffs’ “right to a clean and healthful environment” — a fundamental right enshrined in the Montana Constitution.

The case, Held v. Montana, is the first constitutional climate suit in U.S. history to make it to trial. The nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust brought the legal challenge on behalf of 16 young people, ranging in age from five to 22, against the state’s pro-fossil fuel policies.

They argued that Montana’s energy policy had harmed Montana’s environment and failed to protect their rights, citing a law that prevented state agencies from considering climate impacts when approving projects. The court sided with the plaintiffs and held that this restriction violated the state’s constitution.

Throughout the trial, experts testified to the public health threats from climate change. And the plaintiffs, many of them children, provided impactful testimonies on how Montana’s changing climate had hurt them both physically and mentally.

Some described experiencing severe allergies and respiratory illnesses due to increased air pollution and wildfire smoke. Others had witnessed their homes damaged by floods, suffered isolation from not being able to safely recreate outside, and expressed anguish over their futures knowing that glaciers are melting in the state they call home.

The Montana court set an important precedent by recognizing that a safe and stable climate is integral to the enjoyment of all other rights. This decision can inform other cases seeking to hold governments — along with fossil fuel companies — accountable for harms caused by climate change.

Young people are also pursuing constitutional climate cases in Hawaii, Virginia, and Utah.

Other states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island, along with cities like Boulder and Baltimore, Maryland, are suing for damages from Big Oil for allegedly concealing or misrepresenting the dangers of burning fossil fuels.

California filed suit this September against five of the largest oil and gas companies in the world for engaging in a “decades-long campaign of deception” about climate change. California is the largest oil-producing state and economy to take such legal action against Big Oil.

The lawsuit alleges that Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and their trade association, the American Petroleum Institute, have all known for more than 50 years that burning fossil fuels would lead to global warming.

Yet rather than warn the public, the complaint details how the companies chose to publicly downplay and deny the dangers to the environment while aggressively promoting their products in California.

Through this lawsuit, California Attorney General Rob Bonta seeks to hold the fossil fuel companies financially responsible for contributing to climate-related damages in the state, create a fund to finance climate mitigation, and prevent these companies from further misleading the public. This approach is similar to that used against the tobacco industry.

Climate-related lawsuits face complex legal obstacles, like proving causality between fossil fuel industry practices and resulting harms. But if successful, they can make Big Oil pay for its well-documented role in the climate disaster — and ultimately transform how these companies do business.

Litigation alone won’t solve the climate emergency. The environmental justice movement will need to keep sustained pressure on our elected officials, many of whom have either enabled this crisis or been far too reluctant to act on it.

Together, this combination of litigation and grassroots advocacy sends a powerful message to policymakers that, in the words of Montana plaintiff Rikki Held, “We can’t keep passing on the climate crisis to future generations.”

2023 Secretarial #Drought Designations include 1,156 primary counties and 373 contiguous counties — @DroughtDenise

For more info on the Emergency Disaster Designation and Declaration Process, please visit https://fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/FactSheets/emergency_disaster_designation_declaration_process-factsheet.pdf