“Dry, hot and on fire” is how the California Department of Water Resources described Water Year 2018 in a recent report.

The 2018 Water Year (Oct. 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2018) marked a return to dry conditions statewide — and with much of Southern California receiving half or less of its average annual precipitation — following an exceptionally wet 2017.

Was 2018 simply a single dry year or does it signal the start of another drought? And what can reliably be said about the prospects for Water Year 2019? Does El Niño really mean anything for California, or is it all washed up as a predictor?

At Water Year 2019: Feast or Famine?, a one-day event on Dec. 5 in Irvine, water managers and anyone else interested in this topic will learn about what is and isn’t known about forecasting California’s winter precipitation weeks to months ahead, the skill of present forecasts and ongoing research to develop predictive ability.

Bringing together research meteorologists and climate scientists, the eventwill also feature current information about experimental forecasts of atmospheric rivers and winter blocking conditions as well as preliminary research for the Colorado River Basin. 

Click here for more information and to register.

This special event is sponsored by the California Department of Water Resources and the Water Education Foundation in partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.