Central Sierra’s Snowpack Currently at 30% of Average | Snowpack Made up of Just Three Major Storms This cool image, from UCB, shows that with some minor exceptions the bulk of the central Sierra’s snowpack is made up of three major storm periods. The snowpack has little stored cold content against continued clear weather, meaning that its relatively small mass wouldn’t take much of a temperature rise to begin melting. This other image, courtesy of the […] Weather Steven Agar | February 8, 2018 0 Comments
NASA: Snow Blankets Yosemite National Park, CA In the second week of November 2022, the first significant winter storm of the season pummeled California with record daily rainfall in the lowlands and heavy snowfall in the mountains. As the storm system moved on to the Great Plains, skies cleared over California and revealed this wintery view of the Central Sierra Nevada. Related: 8-Year-Old Boy Sets Out to […] SnowBrains | November 15, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Smoky Fires Rage in the Northwest The scorching weather of summer 2022 has left much of the Northwestern United States primed to burn with wildland fires. In early September, the northern Rocky Mountains and the Cascade Range billowed with smoke that was slowly wafting across the continental U.S. and southern Canada. Related: [VIDEO] Big Bear Ski Area, CA, Employees Fire Up Snowguns to Slow Encroaching Wildfire […] Fire Firebrains | September 12, 2022 1 Comment
Weekly USA Fire & Smoke Report & Forecast | 96 Large Fires Currently Burning ~700,000 Acres in 8 States National Fire News National Preparedness Level 4 as of September 6 at 7:00 a.m. MDT (on a scale from 1 to 5) Current hours for the National Fire Information Center are (MST) 8:00 am – 4:30pm, Monday – Friday 208-387-5050 This report will be updated Monday through Friday. Please check the IMSR for more information. September 9, 2022 Currently, 96 large […] Fire Firebrains | September 9, 2022 0 Comments
Indy Pass Adds 2 Popular Resorts in California | Now Offers 106 Resorts Worldwide The co-owned resorts bring Indy Pass to five mountains in the Golden State and 16 on the West Coast The Indy Pass announced today that two of California’s most popular independent resorts have joined the coalition for the 22/23 season. Mountain High, in SoCal’s San Gabriel Mountains, is now conveniently paired with Snow Valley, while the Bay Area’s Dodge Ridge […] Industry News SnowBrains | August 24, 2022 0 Comments
Californian Reservoirs at Healthy Levels from Last Year’s Snowfall, Despite This Year’s Poor Snowpack Water storage in the region’s reservoirs this year will act as a buffer against a full drought for at least two more years, with Lake Tahoe at a healthy 81 percent capacity and Lake Lahontan at 74 percent. Snowpack levels at Mount Rose summit haven’t changed much since the outlook in December, as measurements indicate the area is a month […] Steven Agar | February 8, 2018 0 Comments
NASA: A “Surprisingly Average” Year for Sierra Snowpack The Sierra Nevada is known for its booms and busts regarding mountain snow. Last year, there was record-high snow, whereas the snowpack was low three years prior. After more than a decade of unusually wet or unusually dry years, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada was close to normal in 2024. Related: California’s April Snow Survey Shows Above Average Snowpack […] SnowBrains | April 12, 2024 0 Comments
California Reaches 100% Average Statewide Snowpack California has officially reached 100% of the April 1 average for statewide snow-water equivalent (snowpack). As of March 13, 2024, the Northern Sierra/Trinity and Central Sierra are sitting at 117% and 102%, respectively, for the April 1 average. However, the Southern Sierra is still just below the April 1 average, with 95% total snow water equivalent. While it officially remains an […] Industry News John Cunningham | March 20, 2024 0 Comments