It’s a mid-level miracle, assisted by record rainfall earlier this year.
If you don’t believe me, just look at these before and after images.
Rivers that had shrunk to a trickle now fill the valleys they once carved out of the Earth.
Heck, even crispy brown fields of thirsty grass have become majestic green hills.
That means the risk of wildfires is down, and Californians can lighten up about water usage.
Of course, the relatively water-rich conditions of April do not necessarily mean that California is free from the risk of a future drought.
As Wired pointed out earlier this year, precipitation in the Golden State can fluctuate by as much as 50-percent on a yearly basis.
The effects of climate change could also make these fluctuations even more extreme.
God knows the Trump administration isn’t interested in doing anything about climate change.
Folsom Lake Marina (March 2014 vs. April 2017)

Just in: Florida’s drought may mean mandatory water cutbacks soon.
About 34 percent of Florida is now in a severe drought with an additional 35 percent either in moderate drought or abnormally dry.
Pete Kwiatkowski, director of the district’s resource evaluation division, said a lack of rain has depleted groundwater supplies so much that some wells are near record low levels.
“Because it’s been so dry and water demands are increasing for irrigation, it’s a double whammy,” Kwiatkowski said.
It also means the district will increase in communication with local governments and the public about potential water shortages.
“We are obviously going to need some more rain and it will start raining,” said John Mitnik, the district’s chief engineer.
“It’s just a question of when and how much it’s going to rain.” A report released this morning by the National Drought Mitigation Center shows that while Palm Beach County’s drought has improved, a substantial amount of the center and southwest part of the state has worsened.
The driest areas in the county are in the far west on the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee.
The report comes as Florida is under a state of emergency because of dozens of wildfires burning throughout the state.
A fire in the Big Cypress National Preserve north of Interstate 75 has burned 16,000 acres.

A study by Matthew Lehnert, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences at Kent State Stark, shows that the method in which flies and butterflies ingest liquids into their own bodies for nourishment may be used as a model for delivering disease-fighting drugs to the human body.
Drug delivery systems are engineered technologies for the targeted delivery and/or controlled release of therapeutic agents.
This study also found that there is a limiting pore size from which each individual can feed — butterflies and flies with smaller mouthpart channels will be able to feed on liquids from smaller pores, which might have an advantage for the insects and more broadly for the ecosystem in case of a drought.
Lehnert, three of his Kent State Stark undergraduate student assistants and four other researchers found that flies, butterflies and moths (20 percent of all animals) use capillary action, or the movement of liquids seamlessly from one place to another, as the guiding principle when feeding on liquid films — their primary source of food.
An insect’s proboscis, a body part that allows them to drink liquids, acts like a highly-sophisticated sponge and straw that uses capillary action to send nectar or other liquids to the insect’s diges tive system.
In order to feed on nectar and other liquid films, natural selection has favored the evolution of specialized mouthparts in fluid-feeding insects.
In butterflies and flies, the mouthparts consist of a proboscis adapted for using capillary action to pull thin films of fluid from surfaces for subsequent feeding.
By copying this natural method, scientists say the mouthparts of flies and butterflies can serve as models for developing new devices for improved drug delivery systems.
Journal Reference: Matthew S. Lehnert, Andrew Bennett, Kristen E. Reiter, Patrick D. Gerard, Qi-Huo Wei, Miranda Byler, Huan Yan, Wah-Keat Lee.
ScienceDaily, 13 April 2017.

EXTENSION CORNER: Drought has deeper effect on plants than wilted leaves.
Well, not that funny — but people notice it is dry when there is no rain, yet they seem to forget about it once the rain sets in.
While the rains of winter returned some water to once-dry ponds and creeks, we as gardeners and homeowners have not seen the end of the effects on our landscapes and naturalized areas.
Drought is much more than scorched grass and wilted tomato plants.
As soil moisture is pulled away from the roots, cell death in the roots and vascular tissues begins to occur.
Here’s what to expect: • Some plants will not come out of dormancy this spring.
• Some trees and shrubs that do break bud after dormancy will have root systems insufficient to support the canopy, leading to dieback or death next spring and summer.
In the case of many Leyland cypress trees, which are prone to fungal cankers, the stress of drought allows the disease to spread throughout the tree, leading to plant death.
Lastly, if you see that a tree or shrub has succumbed to disease or insects, it may be time to consider a replacement.
Donations can be dropped off at any time during the month at the Etowah County Extension Office.

Rain makes big dent in region’s drought.
Times Herald-Record @MikeRandall845 All that heavy rain last week made a huge dent in the region’s drought.
The report, based on readings taken Tuesday, showed the drought had ended in the remaining 9.71 percent of Sullivan County that was under moderate drought conditions a week earlier.
This week, 91.18 percent of Sullivan County is considered abnormally dry, which is one step below a drought.
The remaining 8.82 percent of the county has neither drought nor pre-drought conditions.
In Orange County, only 3.1 percent of the land is under moderate drought conditions, down from 92.72 percent a week earlier.
Another 77.69 percent of the county is abnormally dry, and 19.21 percent has no drought or pre-drought conditions.
In Ulster County, 30.28 percent of the land is still under moderate drought conditions, down from 37.15 percent last week.
The remaining 69.72 percent of Ulster County is abnormally dry.
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Torrential rain flooded parts of Texas early this week, causing numerous swift water rescues across the south-central portion of the state. Army officials said one person is missing from Fort Hood after a vehicle was swept off a road early Tuesday morning. The individual’s car was recovered, but rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Dozens of water rescues were performed in Bell County, just north of Austin. According to local station KXAN, more than 50 water rescues were performed in San Marcos, about 30 miles south of Austin. Texas State University closed on Tuesday afternoon as parts of the campus were overwhelmed with flooding. Up to 7 inches of rain fell in the city. More than 100 wildfires raging across Florida have led to 2017 being the most active wildfire season for the state in six years. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state…

ANNOUNCEMENT: Water Storage Investment Program: Application walk-through and quantification example webinar.
The California Water Commission (Commission) is hosting a webinar for potential applicants of the Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP) on April 27, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Building off a successful workshop held March 30th; this webinar will delve deeper into the application instructions.
Commission staff will provide attendees with a project example highlighting specific portions of an application.
The Commission is committed to providing additional webinars, on a variety of topics, for proponents of new water storage projects to learn more about the application process and to ask questions related to preparing and submitting an application for funding under the WSIP.
The application period is currently open and lasts through August 14, 2017.
Staff of the Commission, the Department of Water Resources, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife will be available to answer questions.
The Commission will be using the Skype for Business program for this and future webinars.
Attendees can join the webinar via the included link or by phone via the call-in number provided.
Join Skype Meeting This is an online meeting for Skype for Business, Join by phone +19165732034 (Dial-in Number) Conference ID: 20247928 For additional information and resources about the WSIP application, schedule, and process, please visit https://cwc.ca.gov/Pages/ApplicationResources.aspx.

Central Florida’s drought intensifies to ‘severe’ in many areas.
With just a tenth of an inch of rain in Orlando in the last 49 days, drought has intensified and spread across much of Central and South Florida, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The monitor’s weekly update Thursday shows parts or all of Orange, Lake, Brevard and Osceola counties deteriorating from moderate to severe drought.
Orlando has not had measurable rain this month and no significant rainfall, according to the Florida Forest Service, since late February.
Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in response to the threat of wildfires.
The declaration was followed Wednesday by Scott’s order for the Florida National Guard to provide a Black Hawk helicopter for aerial water drops on wildfires.
“This effort will help your water supply last through the remainder of the dry season,” said Dan O’Keefe, the agency’s chairman.
Nearly two-dozen major wildfires are active from the Georgia line near Jacksonville through the Orlando region and as far south as Lake Okeechobee.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, several inches of rain eased moderate drought in portions of Levy and Alachua counties.
Meanwhile, all of Osceola and south Orange counties, where theme parks are located, were determined to be in severe drought.

Drought plan approved in Tuscaloosa.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Water providers in Alabama were required by the state to create drought plans.
Tuscaloosa receives its water from Lake Tuscaloosa.
Stage 1, in the drought plan, is reached when water dips 11 feet below pool.
Residents would be asked to voluntarily conserve water.
But the city’s watershed manager said it’s unlikely a drought will impact city water supply.
"It would be three to four times worse than anything we’ve seen as far as a drought would be.
In my opinion, the whole state would be under a state of emergency before we reach stage one," said Josh Yates, Watershed Manager for the City of Tuscaloosa.
The city said it’s very likely the drought plan will be used for other water issues.
If a pump fails, or a major line breaks, some stages could be implemented in certain areas of the city.

Will Canada End Its Stanley Cup Drought?
Well, It’s Not Impossible.
It’s been a cold, agonizing quarter-century for hockey fans in the Great White North.
So the more cracks Canadian teams can take at the Cup, the better their country’s odds of winning.
The playoffs aren’t totally a crapshoot, though — better teams still have a greater chance of winning.
(And yep, Edmonton wound up taking the prize.)
The late ’80s were a golden era for Canada’s Cup chances; Canadian teams haven’t combined for even half those odds in a single postseason since 2006.
This year, the five Canadian playoff squads’ probabilities add up to a mere 17 percent — only a little over half what we expected earlier when we naively assumed that every playoff team had an equal shot at Lord Stanley’s Mug.
According to SRS, the best Canadian team — Connor McDavid’s Oilers — ranks a distant sixth in the league, with a rating that translates to a mere 5 percent chance of winning the Cup.
But for now, Canadian hopes of ending the Stanley Cup drought are once again resting on a handful of decent-but-not-great clubs.