Was 2020 a superbloom year?
Never called a superbloom
Not on anybody's record. The 2019–20 rain cleared the big-year mark at Anza-Borrego, Antelope Valley and the Carrizo Plain, and no agency called a superbloom — which is how most wet winters end. A good spring and a superbloom are different things.
The rain behind it: 2019–20
A desert spring is paid for by the winter before it. These are the season totals at the nearest long-running weather station to each desert, October 1 through May 31, against the totals that big springs have historically followed.
| Desert | 2019–20 rain | Big-year mark | How it landed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death Valley | 1.32" | 2.0" | Under the big-year mark |
| Anza-Borrego | 7.47" | 3.5" | Into the big-year range |
| Antelope Valley | 8.62" | 5.0" | Into the big-year range |
| Carrizo Plain | 6.44" | 6.0" | Past the big-year mark |
Measured, in the order of the table, at Death Valley (Furnace Creek), Borrego Desert Park, Lancaster (Fox Field) and New Cuyama — the nearest long-running station to each desert. Records from NOAA.