Calif.’s Sierra snowpack is below average. Will 2 big storms help?
California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack is half what is considered normal for this time of year, in part due to warmer storms that have delivered more rain than snow this winter. But there’s hope that an atmospheric river soaking the state Wednesday and Thursday — as well as a second system expected to arrive Sunday — might provide a boost, even if it’s a small one. The first storm started to push into California on Tuesday night. Snow was falling in the northern part of the state in the Cascades and Mount Shasta area late Wednesday morning, said Sara Purdue, also a forecaster with the weather service. It’s not expected to start snowing in the greater Sierra Nevada Range until later today. Snow levels are expected to start out high in this first storm, hovering around 6,000 to 7,000 feet in the Sierra on Wednesday.
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