California marks third year of decent Sierra snowpack

(CN) — For the third time in as many years, snowfall in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains stood at or above average as the rainy season comes to a close, giving the state a further reprieve from the severe drought conditions that have plagued the West Coast in recent decades.

“Overall we have made it to above median in terms of our snowfall this season,” Andrew Schwartz, the director of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, said at a presentation Thursday. “Which is fantastic news.”

A recent storm not only added another 9 inches of snowfall at the research laboratory located at the Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada this week, Schwartz said, but also slowed the snowmelt that has started already as the temperatures have begun to rise.

California depends on the snowpack for a big chunk of its fresh water supply, and average snowfall this past winter will ensure that there will plenty of water from the melting snows to keep the state’s reservoirs well supplied.

The California Department of Water Resources on Tuesday announced an increase to the State Water Project allocation forecast for 2025 after the state’s snowpack peaked on April 4 at 100% for the season.

The State Water Project, a collection of canals, pipelines, reservoirs and hydroelectric power facilities, provides water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.

Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the project, stands at 120% of average for this date and 95% full. The massive reservoir in Northern California could reach capacity this spring for the third straight year.

Farther south, the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County — a critical storage space for water destined for Southern California — is 101% of average for this date and 83% full.

“Things are looking quite good around the state with our snow and water resources,” Schwartz said at Thursday’s presentation.

It’s exceedingly rare for snowfall in California to be at or above average for three years in a row, he added, occurring once every 25 years. The last time it happened was in the late 1990s.

“The caveat to that being that we never really have seen four years in a row, at least here at the snow lab,” Schwartz said. “And even if we were to see a fourth year in a row, drought will be returning sooner than later.”

The three wet years, however, will give the state a good basis and storage for drier years to come, he concluded.

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