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Back-to-back storms to refresh a precipitation windfall in California

March is a notoriously fickle month for California precipitation, but the storm door remains open for the Golden State, where precipitation has been plentiful for a second straight year. The month began with a severe blizzard, and it looks like it will close with a solid dose of Sierra snow — and a potentially significant rainstorm in Southern California.

From Mammoth to Tahoe, Powerful Blizzard Could Sock Sierra With Up To 12 Feet of Snow

A powerful storm expected to hit California starting Thursday could bring the strongest blizzard of the winter for the Sierra Nevada, potentially dumping 5 to 12 feet of snow at elevations 5,000 feet above sea level.

How California’s Rainy Season Is Shaping Up So Far

With its Mediterranean climate, California receives most of its annual precipitation in just a few months, with the bulk of it falling from December to February.

California Storms Bring Optimism For State Water Reserves

Weeks of heavy rain and snowfall in California have given experts “cautious optimism” about the state’s water year and a snowpack to help boost water reserves recovering from years of drought.

A New Tool Can Help Protect California and Nevada Communities From Floods While Preserving Their Water Supply

At the dawn of the new year in 1997, the Truckee River transformed. The winter season had thus far been great for snow, but when a subtropical storm from near the Hawaiian Islands rolled in, it carried with it unseasonably warm rain. The warm rainfall combined with snowmelt to swell the rivers, with the Truckee burying much of downtown Reno under water.

A Warm Winter has Left California’s Snowpack in a Dismal State. Will the New Storms Help?

Despite forecasts of heavy rain and possible flooding in the coming days, state water managers are warning that the “snow drought” in California’s Sierra Nevada could remain for the rest of the winter and into the spring.

Water Content of California’s Snowpack is Well Below Normal, But a New Round of Storms Approaches

The water content of California’s mountain snowpack was just over half of the normal average on Tuesday, a modest increase from Jan. 1 but still far below the usual, state officials said.

Healthy Reservoir Levels Offset Scant Snowpack Depths

Unlike early 2023, when nonstop atmospheric river storms built a deep Sierra Nevada snowpack, replenished depleted reservoirs and flooded parts of California, snowfall and rain is sharply diminished so far this year. But state water officials say there is plenty of winter left to accumulate more snow and precipitation.

California’s Biggest Winter Storm So Far Is On Its Way. Will It Put A Dent In The ‘Snow Drought’?

After a worryingly weak start to the winter for California’s mountains, two storms — including what’s expected to be the biggest of the season so far — are expected to dump several inches of snow on the Sierra Nevada this week, days after some promising weekend snowfall.

Report: Water Risks Threaten U.S. Agriculture

U.S. agriculture is at risk from climatic extremes and groundwater over-extraction, says a new report from the Environmental Defense Fund.