Oh well, maybe next year the people of Fresno can say they lived through the driest year on record. The Fresno Bee reported that in the 2013-2014 year, which ends officially in May, the city surpassed the driest year of 1933-1934 by .34 inches of rain as April sprinklings buoyed this year’s total to 4.77 inches.
Also worthy of note, according to the National Weather Service, 2012-2013 is the seventh-driest on the list and will move to eighth if May comes up dry.
Nevertheless, those who think things have gotten a bit arid for California the last few years must keep in mind things could always be worse. As Breitbart News reported, according to Scott Stine, a professor of geography and environmental studies at California State East Bay, “We’re living in a dream world. The longest droughts of the 20th century in which Californians think of as severe, occurred from 1987 to 1992 and from 1928 to 1934.” Both, Stine said, are minor compared to the ancient droughts of 850 to 1090 and 1140 to 1320.
Through studies of tree rings, sediment, and other natural evidence, researchers assert that over the past 1,000 years, California has had multiple droughts that lasted 10 or 20 years in a row. Thus, the three-year duration of the current dry spell does not come close to California’s driest periods.
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