California Refilling

Even as much of the country is still recovering from a brutal 2012 of heat and drought, much of non-desert California is experiencing record rainfall, some parts receiving 800% of their normal amounts in mere hours.  Instead of the devastating floods that come with such intense bursts of precipitation, the rain is going to the right areas and recharging aquifers and lakes.  This has been needed for a very long time.

Lake Kaweah, near Visalia, California, Sierra Nevada foothills.  Though the lake is often drained to a lower level for flood control, the sad truth is that many lakes in California have looked like this for a long time.  

If this continues to some degree through the winter, the deserts, which get winter rainfall anyway, will experience a bloom worthy of taking the most skeptical person's breath away.  2013 will be a year of plenty of water for California, hopefully along with a renewed appetite for better water management practices there.