Yes, we know that California is having a dry year. But, it is interesting to hear just how dry we are. In the Northern Sierra, snowpack is at only 10% of average. In the Central Sierra (Tahoe) the snowpack is at 21% of average. The Southern Sierra is doing the best with 29% of average snowpack right now.
“The water situation is bad. We’re kind of in unprecedented conditions. We’re looking at a year that’s potentially going to be worse than the 1976-77 drought [the worst water year on record in CA].” – John Woodling, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Water Authority
Pretty scary as well to read that the Central Sierra currently has a snow water content of only 8% of average…
It has been an extremely dry start to the 2013-2014 winter, as many of you are more than aware. California Department of Water Resources did a snow survey last Friday and the image shows a summary of their findings. The northern and central Sierra snow pack is only 10-21% of normal. There are a few chances for precipitation mid-week through the weekend, but nothing significant by typical Sierra standards. – NOAA, Sacramento
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