Module 1- Drought Assignment
Read Chapter 1 from Carle and answer the following questions.
1. What does the book mean by “There is no average”?
It means that very rarely does California weather actually match long-term averages.
2. When was the largest flood disaster in California’s history?
The largest flood disaster in California's history happened on January 1997 which caused significant damage to human structures.
3. What does the “100 year flood” concept really mean?
The term 100-year flood is used to describe the recurrence interval of floods which means that a huge flood has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year.
4. Answer the following questions using Figure 17 from your book:
a. What is the minimum and maximum amount of precipitation California has experienced?
The minimum amount of precipitation California has experienced was in 1924. The maximum amount of precipitation California has experienced was in 1983.
b. Does there appear to be a regular, repeatable pattern of precipitation?
There does seem to be a similar pattern of precipitation over the years with a few inconsistencies.
c. Could you use the 11-year running mean to predict the precipitation for any given year?
I don’t think so, no.
