Since the invention of weather radar, anecdotes have swirled about how a thunderstorm changes as it approaches and moves across a city. The stories involve a storm suddenly splitting and reforming downwind of a city or, in a related way, suggest that a thunderstorm is producing more rain immediately downwind of a city.
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These dramatic before-and-after photos show how storms filled California's reservoirs
A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville's dry banks on May 23, 2021, left, and the same location on March 26, 2023, in Butte County, Calif.
Read the full story at the end of the gallery.
Houseboats rest in a channel at Lake Oroville State Recreation Area on March 26, 2023, left, and the same location on Aug. 14, 2021, in Butte County, Calif.
A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville on March 26, 2023, left, and the same location on May 23, 2021, in Butte County, Calif.
A dock floats in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake, March 26, 2023, left, and the same location on dry land on May 22, 2021, in Folsom, Calif.
Docks float in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake on March 26, 2023, left, and the same location on May 22, 2021, boat docks sit on dry land in Folsom, Calif., on May 22, 2021.
A trailer stands at a property that was scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire above Lake Oroville on March 26, 2023, and the same location on May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif.
BEFORE: A vehicle is parked on a newly revealed piece of land due to receding waters at the drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Granite Bay, Calif., on Saturday, May 22, 2021.
AFTER: In an aerial view, a boat floats in the Granite Bay area of Folsom Lake, in Granite Bay, Calif., on Sunday, March 26, 2023.
BEFORE: A boat crosses Lake Oroville below trees scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire on May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif.
AFTER: A boat crosses Lake Oroville on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County, Calif.
BEFORE: Dry hillsides surround Lake Oroville on May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif.
AFTER: The Oroville Dam, top right, holds back water at Lake Oroville on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Butte County, Calif.
BEFORE: Houseboats float on Lake Oroville on Oct. 25, 2021, in Oroville, Calif.
AFTER: Houseboats float near Lake Oroville's Bidwell Bar Bridge at on Sunday, March 26 2023, in Butte County, Calif.
BEFORE: Empty boat dock sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Folsom, Calif., on May 22, 2021.
AFTER: A sign stands in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake, in Folsom, Calif., on Sunday, March 26, 2023.
BEFORE: Houseboats rest in a channel at Lake Oroville State Recreation Area in Butte County, Calif., on Aug. 14, 2021. Months of winter storms have replenished California's key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought.
AFTER: Houseboats float at Lake Oroville State Recreation Area on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County, Calif. Months of winter storms have replenished California's key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought.
BEFORE: A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville's dry banks on May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. Months of winter storms have replenished California's key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought.
AFTER: A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County, Calif. Months of winter storms have replenished California's key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought.
BEFORE: Boat docks sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, in Folsom, Calif., on May 22, 2021. Months of winter storms have replenished California's key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought.
AFTER: Docks float in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake in Folsom, Calif., on Sunday, March 26, 2023. Months of winter storms have replenished California's key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought.
BEFORE: A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville's dry banks on May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif.
AFTER: A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County, Calif.
BEFORE: An empty boat dock sits on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, in Folsom, Calif., on May 22, 2021.
AFTER: A dock floats in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake in Folsom, Calif., on Sunday, March 26, 2023.
BEFORE: People walk near boat docks as they sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Folsom, Calif., on May 22, 2021.
AFTER: Docks float in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake in Folsom, Calif., Sunday, March 26, 2023.
BEFORE: A home scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire rests above Lake Oroville on May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif.
AFTER: A trailer stands at a property scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire above Lake Oroville on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County, Calif.
Dramatic photos show how storms filled California reservoirs
FOLSOM, Calif. (AP) — Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during the depth of California's drought that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake.
