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Dry Statistics

“The average is the mid-point of a group of related values. But sometimes the extremes are vastly more important than the averages.” This novella written in the early 1980s recounts precisely the sort of weather extremes that California has experienced since 2015—drought and forest fires, then major floods.  The author knew first hand from his career in water resources for Los Angeles that the “average” rainfall in California didn’t grasp the reality on the ground of the State’s weather and how it affects people—not least farmers, politicians and journalists.


At the Weather Center, based in the State capital, an eclectic team of engineers works to collect data and make predictions about the State’s water resources. The office used to be called the Drought Center, and before that the Flood Control Center, but it isn’t considered an important office; or it wasn’t until a major drought threatens the Central Valley farmers, and Senator Hinton arrives asking for water for his constituents’ fruit orchards.  Then it is up to Bob Arlin to figure out what to do.  He gives Dolores Valenzia, an engineer whose family traces back to the original Spanish land grants, an opportunity to prove herself.

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Dry Statistics: About Me
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