El Niño: Miracle or Mediocre?

How did we get here? Rainfall statistics tell the tale. Since the memorably wet 97-98 rainfall year, when Bakersfield got nearly 15'' of rain, our net rainfall is now 10'' less than average. Of the top 10 driest years in the 126-year record book, 4 of them have been since 2000. The weekly drought monitor has placed much of California in the most intense category of drought for the past 22 months. Governor Brown issued a drought declaration earlier this year, requiring drastic cut backs in water