Winter storm to boost California’s snowpack at the right time
A significant winter storm is expected to deliver heavy rain and snow to a wide swath of the United States this week, from the West Coast to the Northeast. Cold air from Canada will interact with a pair of fronts, causing “numerous weather hazards” and abnormal temperatures while “almost all of the country [experiences] some form of notable weather,” the National Weather Service said. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 feet is expected for most mountain ranges across the West, where the storm is arriving at an ideal time to lift the region’s already impressive snowpack. As of Tuesday, snowpack in California was sitting at 174% of normal for Feb. 21, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Regionally, the Southern Sierra was at 208%, Central Sierra at 176% and the Northern Sierra/Trinity at 144%.
Related articles:
- Los Angeles Times: Frigid storm to slam California: Blizzard warning for local mountains, snow at low elevations
- San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area to experience very unusual snow event in parts of the region
- Weather West: Substantial (very) low elevation snowfall possible later this week in CA as cold and active weather pattern develops
- EarthSky blog: Pacific winter snowstorm coming … again
- USA Today: 23 million Americans under winter storm warnings as blizzards barrel across Midwest, West
- NBC – Bay Area: Climate in Crisis - Wildfire Impact on Sierra Snowmelt