16 – May – 2014 – New Day

May 16th, 2014

11:44 AM ET

How Bad is California's Drought?

One thing contributing to the wildfires in San Diego County is California's persistent drought.

This map shows the entire state of California is in dire need of water.

Radley Horton, a climate scientist at Columbia University, helped us understand just how bad conditions are on "New Day" Friday.

Horton told CNN's Michaela Pereira the dark red area is experiencing the most severe drought, impacting about 25 percent of the prime land that's used for agriculture.

"It's competition for water in an area that could be short on water, even in a good year," he said.

WATER SHORTAGES:

In this graph, you can see the rainfall this year vs. normal levels of rainfall in major California cities.

This graph shows the decreased amount of rainfall dating back from July 1, 2013.

Horton explained California's last rainy season had about half the normal amount of rainfall throughout California.

"We had about three straight dry years," Horton said.

"Put it all together and we have major water shortage issues."

SNOW COVER:

Here you can see the difference in the snowpack, basically California's water reserve, from 2013 – 2014.

Horton said the comparison above shows how desperate the situation looks this year.

He said the snow cover becomes is the reservoir for the state as the rainy season ends.

"Right now there's maybe a fifth the amount of water you'd normally expect in the snowpack for this time of year," he said.

And higher temperatures are only adding to the problem.

"As temperatures go up, that snowpack tends to get smaller."

WATCH FULL SEGMENT ABOVE

Posted by New Day Staff
Filed under: Interview • News • Videos • Weather

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May 16th, 2014

11:11 AM ET

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Sister Carries Twin on Her Back Across Finish Line

In today's edition of the "Good Stuff," when one Illinois girl gets injured in a race, her twin sister comes to her rescue so they can finish together. CNN's Chris Cuomo reports.

Chloe Gruenke, 13, was running in a track meet when she says she felt "something pull and pop in my thigh."

The girl fell to the ground soon after.

That's when her twin sister Claire, who was also running the race, noticed Chloe.

She picked the girl up and carried her on her back for an entire lap and across the finish line.

"The energy from the crowd made me like, stronger. Love and sportsmanship – like even if you do help somebody, even if you're losing, it's still worth it."

See full story at CNN affiliate KTVI and if you have #GoodStuff news, let us know.

Leave a comment, post on Facebook, tweet to @ChrisCuomo or @NewDay using #NewDay, and submit your story on iReport.