Heavy rain and snow has pounded California in recent weeks, causing floods, power outages, mudslides and other disruptions. But the storms have also filled reservoirs and deepened the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, easing drought concerns in a state that is perpetually worried about not having enough water. The near-constant pace of storms so far this winter has brought the state above-average precipitation, driving the storage level in most of California’s water reservoirs to well above normal for this point in the rainy season. Measurements show virtually no drought in the state.

Other storm and water supply news:

• Action News Now (Chico, Calif.): California Department of Water Resources to release water down Oroville Dam’s main spillway
• Los Angeles Times: Epic stretch of SoCal rainfall muddies roads, spurs beach advisories. When will it end?
• KCRA (Sacramento, Calif.): NorCal live weather impacts: Sections of Sierra highways closed for spinouts, flooding in Valley
• Action News Now (Chico, Calif.): More than 168,000 acre-feet of water could have been captured by Sites Reservoir from recent storms
• The Conversation: Blog: West Coast levee failures show growing risks from America’s aging flood defenses