Will there be a ‘superbloom’ this year in California? Here’s what to know

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM
Associated Press

Carpets of yellow, orange and gold flowers are beginning to cover stretches of Southern California’s vast deserts, the Bay Area’s dramatic bluffs and even the fields near Los Angeles International Airport. But they don’t quite make for a “superbloom” like the one seen across the Southwest last year. Scientists don’t agree on a single definition. Superblooms generally refer to low-elevation desert regions. April is typically the peak month for spring wildflowers, but in high-elevation places they can continue to blossom later into the spring. So far this year’s flowers haven’t been as vibrant or abundant as those that took over swaths of California in 2023 following drought-busting rains.