Tag Archive for: Sierra Nevada snowpack

Sierra Snowpack Hits Record Levels After Recent Storms

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Jess Thomson

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains has reached record-breaking levels thanks to the deluge of snow smashing California this week.

According to data from the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), the Southern Sierras—from San Joaquin and Mono counties to Kern county—currently have a snowpack 257 percent greater than the average for this time of year, and 247 percent larger than is average for the usual snowpack peak on April 1.

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Despite Storms, Water Challenges Persist

/in , , /by /Ag Alertby Christine Souza

New snow blankets the landscape of Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir. Last week, California water officials announced that the statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack was recorded at 190% of seasonal average on March 3. Meanwhile, at a water conference, state officials warned they expect warming conditions to persist and called for partnering on water supply solutions.

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Atmospheric River Storm This Week Will Bring Heavy Rain, Raise Flood Concerns With Huge Sierra Nevada Snowpack

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

The winter of 2023 isn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot.

An atmospheric river storm is likely to hit Northern California late Thursday into Friday, meteorologists and climate scientists said Monday, bringing high chances of heavy rain in the Bay Area, 1 to 3 feet of new snow at higher elevations in the Sierra, and an increased risk of flooding as the warm rain hits the state’s massive snowpack.

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Is California’s Drought Finally Over? Here’s the Impact of the Latest Storms

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

If there’s concern about California’s wet winter turning dry, consider it shushed.

The heaps of snow over the past week on top of the parade of deluges in early January have been extraordinary and left much of the state with well-above-average precipitation for the season. The winter storms, which account for the bulk of the state’s rain and snow, are forecast to continue into next month, virtually ensuring a good water year for California.

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How Weather Forecasts Can Help Dams Supply More Water

/in , , /by /Yale Environment 360by James Dinneen

Between Christmas and January this year, a parade of nine atmospheric rivers — vast streams of water vapor flowing east from the tropical Pacific — pummeled California. The trillions of gallons of rain poured on the state caused widespread flooding. While the rain topped up some drought-depleted reservoirs and aquifers and filled out snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, much of the water quickly ran off into the sea, flowing off asphalt and farms or released from reservoirs to prevent further flooding.

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Letting Go of Our Love of Lawns

/in , , /by /LAistby Erin Stone

Lynetta McElroy stands outside her home on a tree-lined street in the south L.A. neighborhood of Leimert Park, where she’s lived since the 1980s.

“Leimert Park was known for its beautiful lawns,” McElroy said. “No fences, and you could go to one corner and you could see just about to the next corner. It gave a community feeling. I’ve always loved this area. And it took a while to get a home in this area, needless to say.”

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Winter Storm to Boost California’s Snowpack at the Right Time

/in , /by /KTLA 5by Marc Sternfield

A significant winter storm is expected to deliver heavy rain and snow to a wide swath of the United States this week, from the West Coast to the Northeast.

Cold air from Canada will interact with a pair of fronts, causing “numerous weather hazards” and abnormal temperatures while “almost all of the country [experiences] some form of notable weather,” the National Weather Service said.

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Will California’s Excess Snow Become Usable Water This Year?

/in , , /by /The Wall Street Journalby Josh Ulick, Andrew Mollica and Taylor Umlauf

After three of the driest years in California history, this winter’s storms brought some of the wettest and snowiest weeks on record to parts of the state. Snowpack accumulated during winter is vital to the state’s water system because the natural form of water storage melts during the spring and fills reservoirs that can then distribute water downstream where needed.

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Understanding California’s Relationship With the Colorado River

/in , , /by /SFGATEby Amy Graff

It may feel like California is flush with water at the moment, after a winter of historic storms that replenished drought-starved lakes and left the Sierra Nevada snowpack at the deepest it’s been in 28 years. But follow the Colorado River, which supplies 15% of California’s water, back to bottomed-out reservoirs like Nevada’s Lake Mead, and it becomes clear the future of water in the Golden State is still very much in flux.

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Colorado River Crisis is So Bad, Lakes Mead and Powell Are Unlikely to Refill in Our Lifetimes

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Rong-Gong Lin Ii and Ian James

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is the deepest it’s been in decades, but those storms that were a boon for Northern California won’t make much of a dent in the long-term water shortage for the Colorado River Basin — an essential source of supplies for Southern California.

In fact, the recent storms haven’t changed a view shared by many Southern California water managers: Don’t expect lakes Mead and Powell, the nation’s largest reservoirs, to fill up again anytime soon.

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