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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The weather news from 1976 and 1977 sounds familiar today.

Clear rainless days progress one after another, mild temperatures prevail and lake levels drop. Today’s jet stream patterns duplicate 1977’s.

Lake County’s rainfall in 1976 and 1977 totaled about 25 inches, only half of average, and 1977 was the driest year on record in California.

In early 1976 the drought garnered little attention in the press. Roy Dufrain Sr. at the Record-Bee noticed and urged Lakeport officials to get serious about finding reliable long-term water sources.

Wells showed levels 5 to 10 feet lower in May than they did a year earlier, but officials weren’t yet worried about a crisis.

Clear Lake slipped below “zero Rumsey” in September 1976 when water stopped flowing over the Grigsby Riffle in Cache Creek.

Rain in November raised hopes briefly, but Clear Lake continued to fall faster than the rain did.

On Nov. 27, 1976, the low water revealed a car submerged at Clear Lake State Park and resolved the December 1967 disappearance of Melvin Murrin and Chester Lowe.
READ IT ALL AND SEE MORE PIX: https://www.lakeconews.com/component/co ... 77-drought

Did they have five years running of drought, like we do today?

mark poulson wrote:Did they have five years running of drought, like we do today?

Well I'm not sure about the five years of drought, March of 2019 the glory hole at Berry was overflowing...
Its more of not having enough reservoirs and sending water south...

Season (July 1-June 30) Total Inches of Rainfall Inches Above/Below (+/-) Overall Season Average*
2019-2020 13.19 +1.47
2018-2019 16.94 +5.22
2017-2018 3.87 -7.85
2016-2017 16.33 +4.61

mark poulson wrote:Did they have five years running of drought, like we do today?

We have not had 5 years of drought. In 2017 we had so much rain that Lake Oroville overflowed and wiped out the spillway. Clear Lake was over it's banks and flooding. In 2019 Oroville was full to the brim again. In addition to lack of storage I believe we have a water management problem. With the available weather forecast science, we should not go from full and over flowing lakes to record low water in just two years.

I hope people all over the West will conserve water. Forget about your green lawns, shower every other day, wash your car once a month or use carwashes that recycle their water. if we don't get more rain and snow this winter we are totally screwed!

Pat wrote:

mark poulson wrote:Did they have five years running of drought, like we do today?

We have not had 5 years of drought. In 2017 we had so much rain that Lake Oroville overflowed and wiped out the spillway. Clear Lake was over it's banks and flooding. In 2019 Oroville was full to the brim again. In addition to lack of storage I believe we have a water management problem. With the available weather forecast science, we should not go from full and over flowing lakes to record low water in just two years.

I hope people all over the West will conserve water. Forget about your green lawns, shower every other day, wash your car once a month or use carwashes that recycle their water. if we don't get more rain and snow this winter we are totally screwed!

"Shower every other day"???
-Guess there will be two reasons for wearing mask.

77 is the year we sold our resort in Glenhaven. It was bad for the resorts up the channel that were high and dry and our little ramp was dry too... and we were on the main lake! The stench of the water was pretty bad by October I recall.Third reason for a mask? Water management.... ....Casitas is very sad these days.