"January-March was driest such three-month period in San Francisco since records began during Gold Rush"
"Stressed by high temperatures and a record run of dry weather over the last three months, the Sierra Nevada snowpack, the source of 30% of the state’s water supply, has hit one of its lowest levels for the end of winter in generations.
With state water officials scheduled to conduct a snow survey Friday near Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, automatic sensors spread across the vast mountain range showed snow levels were just 39% of normal on Wednesday. The measurements were the latest evidence that California’s three-year drought is growing more severe.
From a water-supply standpoint, the April 1 Sierra snow reading is traditionally considered the most important of the year. Very little snow falls after April 1, so water planners at cities, farms and wildlife agencies are able to assess how much is available for the summer ahead.
By comparison, on April 1 last year, the snowpack was 62% of normal. Going back to 1950, only five times has there been less snow on April 1 than this year, all of them during major droughts — in 2015 (5% of normal), 2014 (25%), 1988 (29%), 1977 (25%) and 1976 (37%)."
Paul Rogers reports for the San Jose Mercury News April 1, 2022.
SEE ALSO:
"Recent Rain Didn’t Halt California’s Slide Back Into Severe Or Extreme Drought" (Los Angeles Times)
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