A recent storm gave much needed rain to a drought stricken California, where the tallest waterfall in North America, located in the Yosemite National park, is flowing again.
The New York Times reported that the water has started to flow again at Yosemite Falls this week, after video showed the falls virtually dry on Saturday. On a webcam of the falls, which the National Park Service says lies 2,425 feet above the valley floor, water could be seen gushing in torrents by Thursday.
The National Park Service posted on Instagram that they experienced quite a storm, with over six inches of rain in Yosemite Valley over 36 hours, adding that the snow level was high for much of the storm, causing rivers and creeks to rise dramatically.
Fall brought cooler, wetter weather according to the National Park Service. However, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Ochs told the New York Times that the torrential rain (the result of two storms colliding) is an unusual event and that the gushing water could be linked to how dry the land has been in the past.
Ochs noted that it was possible that the dry soil was less likely to absorb the water.
The falls’ peak flow occurs in May, after the majority of the park’s snow has melted, according to the article. The waterfalls usually dry up by August.
Tony McDaniel, a spokesman for the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, told the Times that it was amazing to see so much water back, not only in Yosemite Falls, but in the region’s rivers and streams too. The rain was really welcome, and seeing Yosemite not only bursting with fall colours but also rushing water again was a lovely sight to watch he added.
California has had one of the warmest summers on record, with wildfires and drought plaguing the state. The scarcity of water became so severe that one coastal California municipality pleaded with visitors to conserve water by restricting hotel lobby bathrooms to aid the cause.
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