Southern Arizona has an above-normal fire potential this month and next.
In July and August, fire professionals will pay close attention to Northern California and Nevada.
The heavy precipitation this winter has helped most areas recover from severe drought conditions, However, Ed Delgado, the Fire Center’s program manager for predictive services, said this is a double-edge sword for Southern California.
This is especially noticeable in the lower elevations of Southern California.
But the drought has left the timber areas extremely damaged, he added.
Trees are still suffering from lack of moisture and many have died.
“The [lower] fine fuels can carry fire into the timber,” Delgado said.
“In Southern California, we’ve had five to six years of very extreme dry conditions.
A lot of mortality has occurred in the timber areas.” The grass crop has the potential to carry the fire into the stressed forests.
The Opera Fire near the city of Riverside was 1,350 acres and was 75 percent contained as of Monday morning.

Hide caption Part of the Yantic River near McGrath Lane in Lebanon.
[Aaron Flaum/ NorwichBulletin.com] All the rain we’ve had recently has eased the drought in Eastern Connecticut considerably Drought conditions in the far easternmost part of the state have lifted, weather experts say, thanks in part to a spate of recent spring rains.
In Bristol, for example, the reservoir is at 90 percent capacity, DePrest said.
Statewide, reservoirs averaged 93 percent full in March and 97 percent in mid-April, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb., while groundwater levels are also near normal.
While recent rainfall has helped, DePrest said conditions could change again quickly.
“I want to caution, if we go right into a hot, dry summer, we could be right back where we were,” he said.
Last year, those totals for the same time frame stood at 12.71 inches.
“As we started this year, we were running significantly below normal,” Thompson said of regional rainfall totals in January.
Three months ago, 100 percent of the state was experiencing drought conditions at some level, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The Connecticut River is continuing to run low, Furbush said, with levels of 3.6 feet recorded at a measuring site in Haddam.

Danish Funding Supports Vulnerable People In Horn Of Africa Drought And South Sudan.
NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$10.7 million (75 million Danish Krone) contribution from the Government of Denmark to help roll back famine in South Sudan and to assist hungry people in Horn of Africa countries hit by drought.
“If the international community does not act now, the drought in East Africa and the Horn could very easily end up being one of those silent disasters that cost thousands of lives,” said Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs.
The contribution will assist people in South Sudan and support the drought response in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
In Ethiopia, the contribution will support supplementary feeding for children under the age of five and pregnant and nursing women to combat malnutrition.
In northwestern Kenya, Danish funding will help WFP respond to high malnutrition rates among the most vulnerable women and children under the age of five because of drought.
In 2016, Denmark was the 13th largest government donor to WFP and WFP’s fourth largest donor of flexible funds that allow WFP to respond fast and effectively to disasters, providing life-saving food assistance to millions of people, and to reach those who are left furthest behind.
Follow us on Twitter @wfp_africa @wfp_media For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org): Anne Poulsen, WFP/Copenhagen, Tel.
+45 4533 5351, Mob.
+45 4050 3993 Challiss McDonough, WFP/Nairobi, Tel.

BLOG ROUND-UP: State’s survey of other tunnel projects scrutinized; Westlands on NRDC’s Facts; Without farm water, CDFA’s ag vision is meaningless; Moyle and Baumsteiger on facing extinction; and more blog commentary ….
It is for that reason that Westlands recently acknowledged, “because of the extremely wet hydrology, the ESA and other regulations have not restricted CVP operations in 2017.” In his recent “Expert Blog,” Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Attorney, Doug Obegi, seized on this “admission” as evidence that “some irrigation districts and special interest groups representing corporate agribusinesses are twisting the facts to complain about the federal Central Valley Project’s “mere” allocation of [65% for south-of-Delta Central Valley Project agricultural water service contractors.
… ” Continue reading at the Westlands Water District’s Food for Thought blog here: Westlands Water District comments on NRDC’s Own Facts Without farm water, CDFA’s agricultural vision is meaningless: Todd Fitchette writes, “The board for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) enlisted the assistance of a San Diego-based public relations firm to help set a course of action and establish its California Agricultural Vision.
… ” Read more from the Western Farm Press blog here: Without farm water, CDFA’s agricultural vision is meaningless Facing extinction: California fishes: Peter Moyle and Jason Baumsteiger write, “At least two species of California fishes appear to be facing imminent extinction in the wild: delta smelt and winter-run Chinook salmon.
Fast forward to today, and the reservoir is completely full.
The drought emergency he rescinded had been in place since April 25, 2014.
The new Clinic is a project of the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies, in partnership with the California Environmental Law and Policy Center, and will offer unique environmental justice advocacy opportunities for King Hall students.
The placement went extremely smoothly – a great start to the installation process that will continue at a rate of about 5 structures being placed per day.
See also, Who’s in charge of Arizona’s Colorado River, episode 2 Bernhardt at Interior = Fox Guarding the Henhouse: Kate Poole writes, “Today, the President nominated David Bernhardt to be Deputy Secretary of Interior, a position with enormous influence and authority over almost all of our shared public resources.
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Drought conditions affecting planting season.
The late winter and early spring months of 2017 brought weather less than ideal for planting.
South Alabama Planting Update Alabama Extension crops specialist William Birdsong said rain is needed to really kick off the planting season in the Wiregrass.
“Dry soil conditions have hindered planting here as well,” Birdsong said.
“The planted corn looks very good and farmers are spraying to control weeds.
Producers are also making fertilizer applications.” Most of the corn in the Wiregrass area has irrigation, and farmers have already begun watering.
Farmers are hopeful this year, but getting a spring planting rain is critical to the beginning of this crop season.
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Drought causing local hay shortage, headaches for ranchers.
It’s that the hay, which normally makes up for the lack of grass, has become increasingly difficult to find.
Janie Harrington, the manager at Family Feed and Supply in Groveland, said the the store doesn’t sell the big round bales, but they are affected by the shortage anyway.
“I’m having people come to me buying square bales who haven’t bought from me in years because they can’t find round bales.
Even the people that grow the hay are starting to run out for their own stock.” Araceli Rangel, of Irish Trails Farm & Pet Supply in Clermont, does deal in round bales.
The official Lake County year-to-date rainfall through the end of April, as supplied by Lake County Water Authority Executive Director Mike Perry, is 6.11 inches.
Historical average rainfall for the same time period is 11.18 inches.
He also points out that in the month of April, the south end of the county has been considerably dryer than the north end, with the authority’s three south Lake rain gauges measuring only .14, .02, and .01 inches of rain.
“I network to find hay,” she said, “and if I find hay, I tell my group.
Tifton hay runs slightly higher, so local rancher Morrissette considers herself very lucky to have recently found a single round bale of Tifton in the Ocala area for $75.

PHILLIPS STATION, Calif. — Melting of this year’s massive Sierra Nevada snowpack will cause California rivers to surge and possibly overflow their banks well into the summer this year, officials said Monday.
Among the first to be affected will be the Merced River running through Yosemite National Park, which is expected to hit flood stage by mid-week with waters rising a foot above its banks, forecasters warned.
Brown ends drought state of emergency in most of California Large amounts of water are being released from reservoirs downstream from the Sierra Nevada to lower their levels in anticipation of the heavier-than-normal melt off of snowpack, which is nearly double its normal size.
People who flock to the Tuolumne River for recreation should be prepared for rapid and dangerous river water, said Calvin Curtis of the Turlock Irrigation District.
It’s going to be colder than it has been," he said.
The heavy snowpack today blanketing the 400-mile (644-kilometer) long Sierra Nevada stands in contrast to two years ago when barely any measureable snow remained at this time of year amid California’s drought, state water managers said.
RELATED: Conservation groups concerned over easing of water restrictions The California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program on Monday measured that snowpack contains nearly twice the amount of water typically found in the snow at this time of year.
While the heavy snow and its high water content will help prevent water shortages that California residents endured over the last several years, the tough winter was cruel to mountain wildlife – killing off bighorn sheep and lengthening hibernation periods for bears.
During California’s drought, the iconic Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep moved from lower elevations higher up into the mountains in search of food, said Jason Holley, a wildlife biologist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The snowdrifts have also kept many bears hibernating in the remote wilderness inside their dens one month longer than normal because food is still scarce, Holley said.

April ended with record heat and only a trace of rain for the month, intensifying a drought for the Sarasota-Bradenton area, but the National Weather Service forecast more seasonable temperatures and chances for rain this week. The forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of rain Tuesday, with a high of 85 — close to the normal of 83 degrees for this time of year. Thursday’s forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of rain, followed by a high Friday of just 78 as a cold front moves through the area. By…

Weekend rain sets record, ends moderate drought.
On Thursday, Columbia was 3.63 inches short of the normal amount of rainfall for the year.
The majority of the rain, 4.46 inches, fell on Saturday.
It rained 0.38 inches on Friday and 0.92 inches on Sunday, according to National Weather Service records from Columbia Regional Airport.
The Sanborn Field Weather Station at MU recorded 0.29 inches on Friday, 3.55 inches on Saturday and 1.77 inches on Sunday.
The heavy storms over such a short period of time have caused creeks and rivers in Columbia to flood.
In Columbia, National Weather Service records showed that Hinkson Creek crested Saturday at 19.12 feet, which was just short of the record 22.4.
By Monday afternoon, only a handful of roads remained closed, including Easley River Road near the Missouri River and Route WW at Cedar Creek.
The MKT Nature and Fitness Trail, as well as the Hinkson Creek and County House Branch trails, each had water over them Monday morning, park services manager Gabe Huffington said.
The Columbia Missourian produces in-depth journalism across many platforms while coaching talented MU students.

Recent rainfall brings Chattanooga out of a drought.
It was a wet commute for drivers in the Scenic City after nearly an inch of rain fell within 24 hours.
Water swallowed a section of Dayton Boulevard as rain fell during the Monday morning commute.
It was a similar scene on Rossville Boulevard as motorists took their chances and drove through standing water.
We didn’t see any major flooding in our area, but meteorologists said we have seen enough rainfall to bring conditions out of a drought.
"We’ve actually had some pretty decent rainfall, as a matter of a fact, we are 4-4.5 inches above the rainfall for the year," Channel 3 Meteorologist David Karnes said.
10.5 inches of rain fell in April alone, at times, creating localized flooding.
"Another cause is too much rain falls and all the creeks and rivers and streams can’t clear it out fast enough and they start to rise and overflow their banks," he added.
But many hope this trend of seeing more rain continues as we head into the summer and helps keep wildfires like we saw last year from happening again.
Records show Chattanooga has gotten about 23 inches of rain so far this year.