Big storms boost California water supply, but snowpack lags
Ever since California was pummeled by a series of storms in fall and early winter, experts have said the state’s water supply is looking strong for this year. … But experts also say that a few wet storms don’t mean we’re out of the woods. That’s because this winter is a “classically climate-change-flavored one,” according to Daniel Swain, a weather and climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. And that’s not because it’s been a particularly dry winter, he explained. It’s because it’s the warmest winter the West has ever seen. “In the Western U.S., the snowpack is, on average, terrible,” Swain said. “It’s about as bad as it’s ever been in observed history.”
Other snowpack and water supply news around the West:
- KUTV (Salt Lake City, Utah): Utah’s first ‘juicy’ winter storm fails to reverse months of snow drought
- Salt Lake Tribune (Utah): How much snow did Utah get? Here are the totals — and what’s forecast next.
- Colorado Public Radio: Don’t expect recent storms to pull the Mountain West out of its extreme snow drought
- KCRA (Sacramento, Calif.): Northern California forecast: Low-elevation snow, soaking rain expected Thursday
- Los Angeles Times: More rain and frosty temperatures. Here’s when the storms will end
- KTLA (Los Angeles): 3rd storm system moves into Southern California; debris flow risks remain in burn areas
- FOX40 (Sacramento, Calif.): Despite wet weather, one corner of California remains ‘abnormally dry’
