Fernando Perez

Prof. Presiado
Geography 001
September 24, 2017

Hazard Hydrosphere Map Set

Drought in California During El Nino (2014-2016)

Caption: In this map archive, we see California during the middle event of El Ninos warming
which resulted in weather changes and no type of improvement for the severe drought that the
state has suffered. Based upon the Intensity chart, we notice that almost half the state is suffering
through exceptional drought. In an article called, What is a drought? by Natalie Wolchover, it
states that a drought comes in second after hurricanes when it comes to both social and economic
damages to the United States. The worst part of a drought is that it takes time to identify and is
much harder to deal with once the problem occurs. A drought can be caused in many ways. A
drought can be caused not only by lack of precipitation and hot weather, but also through
overuse and overpopulation. (David Miskus). According to live science, there are four different
types of droughts; meteorological, hydrological, agricultural and socioeconomic. Meteorological
drought is when the average rain in a specific area is either too small or big of an amount in a
different area. Agricultural drought occurs when population and reduction of plants is low to
produce. Hydrological drought causes low water in rivers, streams, and reservoirs and is often
caused by humans. Lastly, socioeconomic drought happens when the demand for water increases
than the supply.

Drought in The United States During El Nino (2014-2016)

Caption: In this map archive, we see where most droughts tend to occur in the United States. It
is quickly noticeable that a drought is most likely to appear in the southwest of the U.S. As we
see in the Intensity chart, the west is suffering levels of severe, extreme and exceptional drought.
To us, what is a drought anyway? A drought occurs when there is a long period of low
precipitation in an area, which can cause shortage of water supply. Yet, why does a drought
affect the southwest more than the east of the country? When precipitation like rain or snow
falls uneven in areas, plants will die while soil starts to dry out. This starts to result in the
flowing of rivers, streams, and lakes to decline. (Live Science). A drought occurs more in the
southwest due to the deserts and less likely chance of rain.

Drought in North America During El Nino (2014-2016)

Caption: In this map, we see where droughts occur in all the North American Continent. We still
notice that even though north-west of Canada is experiencing abnormally to moderate drought,
California is still affected by the events of El Nino in which why it has suffered in drought
problems during throughout the year. Many believed that the events of El Nino would have
caused weather changes to improve Californias drought through rainfall. Although, California
still suffers due to too much usage of water supply over years. In an article called El Nino is
Here, so why Is California Still in drought?, Andrea Thompson claims that experts say that it
will take El Nino and many storms to help with the drought built up over years and global
warming hot temperatures that have occurred in California. Another big impact of the drought in
California is through cold sea current. California should prepare for solutions to deal with
drought problems. Charley Cameron by Inhabitant provides the best top solutions to help with
the drought in California (fog catchers, wastewater recycling, water generation, geoengineering
rain, etc). A big impact in which residents of the state can help is by preserving water. Always
limit your time or amount usage of water when it comes to showers, watering plants/grass,
washing cars and any other activities.
 Works Cited

Wolchover, Natalie. What is a Drought? Live Science. Web. 11 November. 2014. Access 21
September 2017.
https://www.livescience.com/21469-drought-definition.html

Thompson, Andrea. El Nino Is Here, so Why Is California Still in Drought?. Climate Central.
Web. 29 January. 2016. Access 21 September 2017.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/el-nino-is-here-so-why-is-california-still-in-drought-19975

Cameron, Charley 10 Solution to Tackle the California Drought. Inhabitant. Web. 28 October.
2015. Access 22 September 2017.
http://inhabitat.com/possible-solutions-to-tackle-the-california-drought/

Map Archive. United States Drought Monitor. Web. 2017. Access 21-22 September 2017.
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/MapArchive.aspx