Current:Home > MyCalifornia begins 2024 with below-normal snowpack a year after one of the best starts in decades -ForexStream
California begins 2024 with below-normal snowpack a year after one of the best starts in decades
View
Date:2025-04-13 23:24:48
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is beginning 2024 with a below-normal mountain snowpack a year after it had one of its best starts in decades, and officials said Tuesday that the weather whiplash has made the outcome of this winter uncertain.
The water content of the statewide snowpack was 25% of the average to date, said Sean de Guzman, a water supply forecasting official with the California Department of Water Resources.
The snowpack functions as a huge frozen reservoir, providing about 30% of the water used annually in California as it melts and runs off into streams and rivers in the spring.
De Guzman conducted the first in a seasonal series of manual measurements on a snow course in the Sierra Nevada at Phillips Station, south of Lake Tahoe. The department also collects measurements with electronic instruments at more than 260 other sites.
De Guzman and his crew methodically worked across a field with minimal snow and a checkerboard of bare spots, measuring and weighing samples.
A year ago there was nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow at the location and the statewide snowpack was at 177% of average, he said in a webcast.
This time at Phillips Station, he recorded a snow depth of 7.5 inches (19 centimeters) and a snow-water content of 3 inches (7.6 centimeters), translating to 30% of average to date and 12% of the average on April 1, when the Sierra snowpack is typically at its peak.
“Today’s result shows that it’s really still too early to determine what kind of year we’ll have in terms of wet or dry,” de Guzman said, adding that many things can happen with storm systems between January and April.
Still, he noted, the state’s reservoir storage is at 116% of average thanks in part to last year’s wet winter, which pulled the state out of a yearslong drought.
In addition, there’s currently a strong El Nino, a natural and occasional warming of part of the Pacific Ocean that can lead to more precipitation than usual in California, but doesn’t always come through.
“Right now the Climate Prediction Center’s seasonal outlook for January, February, March is still showing an increased chance of above normal precipitation and snow,” de Guzman said.
A year ago, the early January snowpack was already exceptional amid a barrage of atmospheric river storms that stood in stark contrast to three preceding years of drought. By April 2023, the snowpack was 237% of average to date.
The storms caused deadly and damaging flooding and crushed buildings with towering loads of snow, but when the state’s Oct. 1-Sept. 30 “water year” ended, enough rain and snow had fallen to fill the state’s reservoirs to 128% of their historical average.
veryGood! (6384)
Related
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- AP Week in Pictures: Global | Sept. 8-14, 2023
- Remembering Stephen tWitch Boss and Allison Holker's Incredible Love Story
- First Floods, Now Fires: How Neglect and Fraud Hobbled an Alabama Town
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- Soldier dad disguised as school mascot surprises son in class
- Former lawmaker who led Michigan marijuana board is sent to prison for bribery
- The Academy is replacing Hattie McDaniel's Oscar that has been missing for 50 years
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Man who fled NYC day care where suspected drug exposure led to child’s death has been arrested
Ranking
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Arrest warrants issued for Baton Rouge police officers in the BRPD Street Crimes Unit
- Europe sweeps opening session in Ryder Cup to put USA in 4-0 hole
- Spanish griffon vultures are released into the wild in Cyprus to replenish the dwindling population
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Another Taylor Swift surge? Ticket prices to Chiefs matchup against Jets in New York rise
- Meet the woman who runs Mexico's only female-owned and operated tequila distillery
- Trump says Mar-a-Lago is worth $1.8 billion. Not long ago, his own company thought that was over $1.7 billion too high.
Recommendation
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Travis Kelce Reacts After Mark Cuban Tells Taylor Swift to Break Up With the NFL Star
Justin Timberlake needs to be a character actor in movies. Netflix's 'Reptile' proves it.
Evan Gershkovich remains detained in Russian prison 6 months later
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Jawlene, Jawlene! Florida alligator missing top jaw gets punny Dolly Parton name
Russia is set to avoid a full ban from the 2024 Paralympics in Paris
Kourtney Kardashian Slams Narcissist Kim After Secret Not Kourtney Group Chat Reveal