Tuesday, March 24, 2015

California Statewide Snowpack Now Below Record Low Benchmark

Snowpack in California has reached a new low milestone that has not been seen in more than 30 years. It's just the latest chapter in the dire drought now entering its fourth year.
According to the California Nevada River Forecast Center, snowpack statewide was just nine percent of average as of March 23. That figure breaks the previous snowpack record for this point in the snow season, set back during the 1976 to 1977 season. 
"That's not a typo, it's now in single digits," the River Forecast Center said in a Facebook post announcing the new low. 
Winter storms capable of delivering feet of snow have been scarce so far in 2015. The animation below shows how the snowpack has receded greatly from early January into the middle of March.
The overall statewide snowpack is calculated based on the combined snow water content of the northern, central and southern Sierra Nevada.
On March 23,  the central and southern Sierra Nevada were both at 10 percent of average, while the northern Sierra Nevada was at seven percent of average.
This snow water content is very important for the water supply in California. As the snow melts later in the spring, it helps to replenish reservoirs in the state. As of March 23, all reservoirs near the Sierra Nevada and in northern California were at 60 percent or less capacity, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
Although northern California reservoirs got a boost from heavy rainfall in February, snow was confined to the highest elevations. This means the moisture-laden storm systems did very little to help the mountain snowpack. 


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