continued dry, but turning cooler

Yesterday's high temperature in Chico was 61 degrees under sunny skies and breezy conditions. Winds at times reached 25 mph from the northwest yesterday. Other than a slight chance of a shower tomorrow with the passage of a weak frontal system, don't expect any rain the next seven days. The drought has become so bad that the state water board is no longer allocating water from the state's reservoirs to cities and farmers who normally rely on them. These cities will be forced to rely on precious little groundwater for their water supply, and farmers will be unable to plant any new crops. The reservoirs are extremely low at this time, and the Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds the reservoirs is only 12% of normal at this point in the wet season. It is becoming dire out there. As I mentioned in a previous post, 17 California communities will completely run out of water by this summer if we don't get any rain or snow over the next three months. I'm running out of hope that we can get enough rain this season to turn things around. Another thing, besides rain, that we won't see anytime soon are the very warm temperatures we experienced the past few weeks. Highs this upcoming week will only be in the upper 50s to lower 60s, which is more typical for early February. Overnight lows will be below freezing, which may harm some of the flowering trees that are blooming right now. This may particularly affect the non-fruit bearing pear trees, which are used for decoration along downtown Chico streets. This cold air is originating from Canada, and the front that will bring us the slight chance of rain tomorrow will also bring down the colder air. Here are the forecast details for Chico through the end of next week courtesy of the National Weather Service: Today Sunny, with a high near 58. North northeast wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable. Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Light and variable wind. Sunday A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 56. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the evening. Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.