Janet LoehrkeUSA TODAY
California has had an astonishing amount of rain this year.
According to the National Weather Service, the total amount of rainfall for the 2023–2024 water year stands at 17.79 inches, which is already more than 3.5 inches over average for the entire year.The official water year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 of the next year.
The temporary lake, now called Lake Manly, in the Death Valley National Park was about 1 foot deep in some areas, according to park officials, as of Feb. 14. But the water may not be around for very long. When a lake formed in the basin in 2005, it reportedly only lasted about one week.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the park is home to one of the hottest, driest, and lowest-elevation locations in North America, at 282 feet below sea level. The lake formed about six months ago as a result of a series of storms that brought record-breaking amounts of rain.
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Dig deeper: Tourists in Death Valley National Park enjoy rare event.
California rainfall brings flooding threat
The state is still recovering from severe weather that hit Southern California in early February, bringing record-breaking rainfall and hundreds of mudslides to Los Angeles and other areas.
Following an excessive amount of rain that caused multiple reports of flash flooding, mudslides, and landslides this week, the atmospheric river has finally moved out of the area.
Learn more: Lake forms in famously dry Death Valley
Aerial photos reveal new lake expanding in Death Valley
NASA comparison images below show the basin's transformation from a dry landscape to a shallow lake after heavy rains in August 2023 and February 2024. The lake now fills the low-lying salt flat.
Although park officials hadn't expected the lake to stay for very long, NASA's photographs show that it has.
"Most of us thought the lake would be gone by October,” Wines said in anews releasebefore the rains returned in February. “We were shocked to see it still here after almost six months.”
It is a unique event, and park authorities are unsure of how long Lake Manly will remain. Although, it might last until the end of March.
Factors behind California's flooding
All three of California's basins – Northern Sierra, San Joaquin and Tulare –saw above average precipitation levels in February, leading to widespread flooding across the state.
CONTRIBUTING Eric Lagatta, Anthony Robledo, Jeanine Santucci and Thao Nguyen/USA TODAY
SOURCE National Weather Service, NASA, Death Valley National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey and USA TODAY research
