Two years after an extremely dry winter led to restrictions on water use, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas is among the deepest on record, says the Los Angeles Times. An end-of-winter measurement by state snow survey chief Frank Gehrke found 94 inches of snow near the town of Phillips.
“When Gehrke stood at that same spot in Phillips in 2015, it was a bare field of dirt, grass and weeds,” said the newspaper. “As of Thursday, the snowpack across the entire Sierra was at 164 percent of average for this time of year.” That’s the equivalent of 46 inches of water when it melts. California “is on track for one of its rainiest water years, measured from Oct. 1-Sept. 30, in history.” The snowpack provides about 30 percent of California’s water.
State officials will meet in May to discuss what to do about water restrictions imposed in 2015, during a four-year drought, and still in effect in some areas. “Farmers in some parts of the Central Valley will get water allocations the likes of which they haven’t received in years,” said the Los Angeles Times. There is so much snow that some officals worry about flooding.
“California’s climate is the most variable of any state. Historically, it swings from drought to flood and back to drought,” said the state Department of Water Resources.