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This year La Niña returns for the third consecutive winter, driving warmer-than-average temperatures for the Southwest and along the Gulf Coast and eastern seaboard, according to NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook released Thursday by the Climate Prediction Center — a division of the National Weather Service.

Starting in December 2022 through February 2023, NOAA predicts drier-than-average conditions across the South with wetter-than-average conditions for areas of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.

“The hardworking forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center produce timely and accurate seasonal outlooks and short-term forecasts year-round,” said Michael Farrar, Ph.D., director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. “NOAA’s new supercomputers are enabling us to develop even better, more detailed forecast capabilities, which we’ll be rolling out in the coming years.”

NOAA forecasters, in collaboration with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), continue to monitor extreme, ongoing drought conditions that have persisted in the Western U.S. since late 2020, as well as parts of the central U.S. where historic low-water conditions are currently present.

“Drought conditions are now present across approximately 59% of the country, but parts of the Western U.S and southern Great Plains will continue to be the hardest hit this winter,” said Jon Gottschalck, chief, Operational Prediction Branch, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “With the La Niña climate pattern still in place, drought conditions may also expand to the Gulf Coast.”

Temperature

• The greatest chance for warmer-than-average conditions are in western Alaska, and the Central Great Basin and Southwest extending through the Southern Plains.
• Warmer-than-average temperatures are also favored in the Southeastern U.S. and along the Atlantic coast.
• Below-normal temperatures are favored from the Pacific Northwest eastward to the western Great Lakes and the Alaska Panhandle.

Precipitation

• Wetter-than-average conditions are most likely in western Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
• The greatest chances for drier-than-average conditions are forecast in portions of California, the Southwest, the southern Rockies, southern Plains, Gulf Coast and much of the Southeast.
• The remainder of the U.S. falls into the category of equal chances for below-, near-, or above-average seasonal total precipitation.

Drought

• Widespread extreme drought continues to persist across much of the West, the Great Basin, and the central-to-southern Great Plains.
• Drought is expected to impact the middle and lower Mississippi Valley this winter.
• Drought development is expected to occur across the South-central and Southeastern U.S., while drought conditions are expected to improve across the Northwestern U.S. over the coming months.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The city of Clearlake is working to create a new homebuyer assistance program to help it retain employees.

The Clearlake City Council gave staff direction to develop a proposal for the program at its Oct. 6 meeting.

“One of the more difficult tasks we face as an organization is retention, and retention of high performing and committed employees,” said City Manager Alan Flora.

While the city has a great group of employees now, Flora said homeownership is the one of the keys both to bringing people to the city and keeping them as staff.

Access to housing locally is a challenge, and Flora said the city is trying to come up with ways to keep employees here. So he wanted to bring the matter to the council.

“There’s not very many examples of this type of program out there,” he said, although they did track down four such programs in California.

Some of the program’s requirements could include a specific incentive amount, a requirement that the home purchased be within the city and owner-occupied. Other considerations are for there to be a requirement for applicants to be employed with the city a certain amount of time as well as an effort made to be sure that the incentive itself is tax-free.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton said she liked the idea and recalled the city having done such a program for police officers. Councilman Russ Perdock said that program was done through a federal grant.

Councilman David Claffey asked about other city retention programs. Flora said the city doesn’t have any other programs per se. They try to give people meaningful work and training opportunities to advance.

Flora said the city has had a few employees apply for the homestead program — which the city established about two years ago to help develop quality housing for professionals — as well as others outside of the city organization.

“It is even more of a challenge to build a new house,” Flora said, noting that there is a real deficit of quality housing in the city.

The average home price in Clearlake is $230,000 to $240,000. Flora said he spoke to a contractor who said new construction would cost around $420,000 for a 1,200 square foot home. He added that he hates hearing about people taking second jobs to afford a home.

During the discussion Flora said the funding would not come from the general fund but from housing set aside money, the same funding source for the homestead program.

Flora said most of the city’s hires have been from out of the area, and sometimes it has been a real scramble to find them a place to live. “This isn’t going to solve the inventory problem.”

He said he was thinking initially that the program could offer $20,000 or $25,000. Flora said he liked terms in Walnut Creek’s plan, which allows a maximum amount of $65,000 or up to $200,000 under a special exception for hard-to-fill positions. The borrower has to be able to pay closing costs of mortgage and 5% down payment.

That program is structured like a loan in which the employee doesn’t make payments or accrue interest and when the house is sold, the increase in value of the home is split with the city.

Councilman Russ Cremer wanted a requirement that the house not be sold for a certain number of years. Flora said that makes sense, and pointed out that most of the programs he’s looked at require a five-year term before the home can be sold.

Claffey wanted to take a step back and consider whether such a program would be important to employees, adding that housing isn’t unaffordable in Clearlake.

Mayor Dirk Slooten said he thought it is a great idea, that it would definitely help with retention and community building.

Perdock suggested the funds also could be used to buy down interest rates for homebuyers.

The council gave Flora direction to come back with a program proposal at a future meeting.

Also during that meeting, Mark Harden was sworn in as the newest police sergeant, the council presented a proclamation declaring October 2022 as Domestic Violence Awareness
Month and Curt Giambruno to the Lake County Vector Control District Board for a term of four years.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The annual Great ShakeOut is giving people the opportunity to practice earthquake safety skills communitywide.

Thursday, Oct. 20 is International ShakeOut Day! In California.

It’s part of the Great ShakeOut, a worldwide earthquake safety movement now in its 15th year that encourages people to practice how to protect themselves during shaking to reduce injuries and even loss of life.

The ShakeOut continues to support earthquake safety and overall preparedness within schools, businesses, organizations, communities and households.

As participation can be any day of the year, people and organizations can still register drills to be held in coming months at the ShakeOut website.

After two years of COVID, participation is rebounding. Organizers said 44 million people worldwide are participating in earthquake drills in 2022, including more than 18 million Americans holding drills on International ShakeOut Day on Thursday, an increase of more than 2.3 million compared to 2021.

In California, 9.6 million people are taking part, including 65,576 on the North Coast.

In Lake County, approximately 9,734 people are taking part in the ShakeOut, including more than 8,200 in schools, nearly 1,200 in government and almost 200 in health care.

"California is no stranger to natural disasters, like earthquakes," said Cal OES Director Mark Ghilarducci. "That's why it's important Californians have the life-saving information they need to be prepared before the next seismic event."

ShakeOut participants practice "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" and other recommended earthquake safety actions for a variety of situations — if you're near a sturdy desk or table, in a stadium or theater, along the coast, driving a car, in bed, or if you have a mobility disability.

Many ShakeOut participants also secure items that could fall or fly, assemble disaster kits and other aspects of the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety.

“In 2008, the Earthquake Country Alliance organized the first Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill as a one-time event in Southern California,” said Mark Benthien, Global ShakeOut coordinator and outreach director for the Southern California Earthquake Center at the University of Southern California. “We had no idea that it would grow statewide, then across the country, and around the world.”

Benthien added, “ShakeOut is a way to increase community resilience at all levels," said Benthien. "Earthquakes can be sudden and violent, but if we have taken steps to prepare ourselves, those around us, and the structures we live, work, and study in, we can greatly reduce their effects.”

Know how to protect yourself during shaking, whether it may occur where you live, work, or travel.

If you use a mobility device, learn how to "Lock, Cover, and Hold On" at EarthquakeCountry.org/accessibility.

Any shaking felt along the coast could mean a tsunami is imminent, so get to know your zone, and how to plan an evacuation route at TsunamiZone.org/california.

Guidance for each situation provided at https://www.earthquakecountry.org/step5/. Many also practice other aspects of their emergency plans.

Join millions worldwide practicing earthquake safety this year! Learn how and register to participate at www.ShakeOut.org.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Mendocino National Forest officials have taken action to move forward on a project to restore fire-damaged forestland.

Joseph Rechsteiner, acting forest supervisor for the Mendocino National Forest, has signed a decision on the North Shore restoration project.

The purpose of the project is to improve community wildfire safety by reducing fuels within the wildland urban interface while also restoring and reforesting burned areas from the 2018 Ranch Fire.

The project area is located in Lake County, about 11 miles southeast of Upper Lake, near communities on the north and northeast shores of Clear Lake.

"This decision allows for reforestation on just over 2,600 acres located on the Upper Lake Ranger District in areas that experienced high levels of tree mortality during the 2018 Ranch Fire, as well as fuels reduction on approximately 40,000 acres. This is a significant milestone for the Mendocino as the largest project decision signed to date,” said Rechsteiner.

Some of those fuels treatments could include prescribed burning, pile burning, hand thinning and mechanical treatment on areas with slopes less than 35%.

The forest’s interdisciplinary team consulted with tribes and other state and federal agencies throughout the environmental analysis.

The team also incorporated feedback from the public, which was collected during comment periods, a public meeting and during field trips to the project area.

Project implementation is expected to occur over several years.

Now that the decision is signed, forest managers will begin prioritizing areas to be treated within the project footprint.

Partnership agreements with the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center and the Tribal Eco-Restoration Alliance are in place.

A third partnership with the North Shore Fire Protection District’s fuels crew is also underway. These partnerships will be instrumental in getting the work done on the ground.

The Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest Research Stations and the University of California-Davis will be conducting research on the North Shore restoration project.

The varying degrees of fire severity across large areas provide a unique research opportunity, and the regimented monitoring required of research will provide a robust review of conditions before treatment as well as short-term and long-term impacts of treatments.

The final decision letter and environmental analysis are available online at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55716.

The California Highway Patrol announced that it received a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety to help promote safe driving behaviors for teens.

The Teen Distracted Driving II grant announcement coincides with National Teen Driver Safety Week Oct. 16 to 22.

The No. 1 killer of teens in America is car crashes. Using cell phones, eating, drinking, changing the music, or simply talking with friends are all activities teens engage in every day, but these activities become life-threatening hazards while driving.

Distracted or inattentive driving presents a significant danger to all motorists.

The grant-funded Teen Distracted Driving campaign consists of an education component that will allow for CHP officers and traffic safety partners to make appearances at schools and community events throughout the state.

Distracted driving enforcement operations will be conducted during National Teen Driver Safety Week in October and National Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, there are nearly 792,970 licensed teenage drivers in California, which increased by 6% since last year.

Data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System indicated that in 2020 there were 6,644 fatal and injury crashes involving teen drivers between 15 and 19 years of age.

This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of the fatal crashes.

“The combination of inattention and inexperience behind the wheel can lead to tragedy,” said CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray. “This grant will assist our officers in keeping California’s roads safe, while addressing California’s distracted driving crisis among the state’s teens.”

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council is set to consider an agreement with the Konocti Unified School District to offer a variety of programs at the city’s youth center.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom or can attend in person.

The agenda can be found here.

Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20.

Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.

On Thursday, the council will consider a joint use agreement with the Konocti Unified School District for the use of the Clearlake Youth Center at 4750 Golf Ave. for youth- and recreation-oriented activities.

Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson’s report explains that in June the council approved the formation of the Recreation and Events Division of the Administrative Services Department “with the intent to increase public engagement and activities through the creation of recreation programs and community events.”

Since then, she said city staff have met with community groups and potential collaborators to develop the best and most effective means to serve the community.

Swanson said staff has formed a valuable partnership with Konocti Unified School District to jointly bring youth and recreation programs to the youth center.

The school district “has agreed to assist with funding and completing much-needed repairs and remodeling in return for cooperative use of the Youth Center for planned after-school activities, youth camps, and City and District employee daycare. Additionally, the City would retain the flexibility to allow use by many other youth activity groups such as the South Shore Little League, scout troops, and Children’s Museum of Art and Science.”

Swanson said if the council approves the agreement, it will be presented to the Konocti Unified School Board for approval.

In another business item, the council will consider amendments to the city's environmental guidelines to include internal guidance for management of tribal cultural resources and consultation.

City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council explains that in 2016 the city adopted a set of environmental guidelines in order to implement the requirements of AB 52, adopted the previous year by the state Legislature, which requires public agencies to consult with Native American tribes and consider tribal cultural resources.

Flora explained that, historically, there have been three tribes with ancestral lands within the city’s boundaries: the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians of the Sulphur Bank Rancheria, the Koi Nation of Northern California and the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California.

“While in large part consultation and coordination between the City as lead agency and the tribes has worked quite well, more recently new staff within the tribal environmental community have resulted in a inconsistent, confrontational, and difficult approach to complete projects. Staff believe that by adopting a more comprehensive policy framework related to tribal cultural resources would result in more predictability, less room for disagreement, and a more streamlined and economic project completion,” Flora explained.

He said the draft policy is adapted from several similar policies adopted within the past few years by various California municipalities.

“While this policy framework is well vetted with tribes in California, it has not been discussed with any Lake County tribes. The Council may wish to pursue this discussion, however staff believe at a minimum an interim policy is needed to guide staff in tribal relations,” Flora wrote.

Also on Thursday, the council will meet one of the adoptable dogs from the city’s shelter, receive a presentation by the Health and Social Policy Institute on second and third-hand smoke and
aerosol exposure and their health effects on community members, and hear from the Scotts Valley Energy Corp. on bioenergy and wildfire mitigation.

On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are considered routine in nature and usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; consideration of acceptance of the property located at 16331 6th Ave.; authorize the city manager to sign the certificate of acceptance; authorization of the subrecipient agreement with Lake County Rural Arts Initiative to receive $474,700 of the Clean California grant; the minutes of the August and September meetings; award of the bid for roofing repairs at 6805 Airport Road; and authorization of the Main Street Project Agreement with Lake County Rural Arts Initiative for an art project development.

The council also will hold a closed session to discuss a lawsuit against the county of Lake and liability claims against the city.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.