This map shows the Sierra snowpack’s record levels
The Southern Sierra snowpack is now the biggest on record, at a whopping 247% of average for April 1, according to charts from the California Department of Water Resources. “There is a whole hell of a lot of water up there right now, stored in the snowpack,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the Nature Conservancy, during an online presentation on Monday. … Late last week, California was on the receiving end of a warm atmospheric river, a band of tropical moisture originating from waters near Hawaii. The event raised concerns of rain-on-snow events, when runoff from rain combines with snowmelt to overwhelm watersheds. Such flooding happened over the weekend on the Kern and Tule rivers, triggering evacuations and badly damaging homes. But at higher elevations, the precipitation only added to the Sierra snowpack.
Related articles:
- San Francisco Chronicle: Epic Tahoe snowpack is causing more roofs to collapse — and new storms are on the way
- Modesto Bee: Is snowpack still near record for Modesto watershed? Numbers to know as storms pause
- 8 News Now – Las Vegas: Where does the snow go? Historic San Bernardino snow levels pose flooding, increased runoff potential
- Fox 5 – San Diego: San Diego water reservoirs levels at 128%