California super bloom bursts to life after record-breaking rain levels

WASHINGTON (TND) — Visitors are flocking to California to catch a glimpse of the state's "super bloom," a rare explosion of wildflowers that usually occurs about once per decade.

One of Mother Nature’s rare jaw-dropping wonders is happening right now in Central California, about 24 miles east of the tiny town of Santa Margarita in rural San Luis Obispo County.

Photos from San Luis Obispo County's colorful super bloom can be seen in the gallery above or by clicking here. They were all taken between April 10-11 on and near Shell Creek Road and Highway 58.

The last super bloom in California happened in 2019, but after a record-breaking winter that saw much more rainfall than experts expected, 2023 brought quite a surprise. The drought was broken, and in its place came hundreds of thousands of flowers of all kinds, fromGoldfields to Tidy-Tips to Baby Blue Eyes.

This stunning event results from consistent rain over several months followed by warming temperatures and drier conditions.

Forecasters in California recorded the driest January through March on record in 2022. Then, an unexpected series of atmospheric rivers hit the state from late December through mid-January, leaving behind staggering amounts of rainfall, nourishing the soil and creating the ideal conditions for a super bloom.

In 2019, the flowers were so vivid that they could be seen from space.

Tens of thousands of people, as many as 100,000 in a weekend—people of Disneyland-sized crowds—were seeking to experience nature [in 2019],”Lake Elsinore Mayor Natasha Johnson recalled at a news conference back in February.“They trampled the very habitat that they placed so high in regard and sought to enjoy.”

Naomi Fraga, the conservation program director at California Botanic Garden, understands the display is a sight to behold but urges visitors not to pick the flowers or dig up entire plants.

People don’t seem to realize how destructive they’re being,” she writes in an opinion piece for the L.A. Times. “As I watch Californians enter a frenzy over wildflowers, I can’t help but think about ways in which we can harness this tangible enthusiasm for good. Can we steer this love of the spectacle to conserve these fragile species and ecosystems for future generations?”

This year's super bloom is expected to last through May.