The Latest Breaking News from John Abatzoglou

A new study shows hot, dry and windy weather that fuels extreme wildfires has nearly tripled worldwide in 45 years

More than 470 Canadian fires classified as ‘out of control’ as scientists say climate change exacerbating the burning

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It was the snowpack reading that spawned a hundred headlines. “California ties 1952 record for all-time Sierra snowpack,” proclaimed KTVU. “California’s snowpack soars to record high after 17 atmospheric rivers,” trumpeted the Washington Post.

LOS ANGELES — California’s wet and wintry start to the year has resulted in perhaps the deepest snowpack recorded in more than 70 years, officials said Monday.

For decades, Californians have depended on the reliable appearance of spring and summer snowmelt to provide nearly a third of the state's supply of water. But as the state gets drier, and as wildfires climb to ever-higher elevations, that precious snow is melting faster and earlier than in years past…

At the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory in Donner Pass on Wednesday, snow was piled so high that lead scientist Andrew Schwartz no longer needed stairs to exit the second floor.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The hazardous weather bearing down on Northern California has flooded overwhelmed rivers and creeks, toppled trees and knocked out power to a storm-weary region.

Images from Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta compiled by the state show ‘a shocking drop in water levels’ compared to years past

LOS ANGELES — The sheer acreage consumed by fire in California in recent years is numbing: more than 2.5 million acres last year, and 4.3 million acres the year before that.