NASA: Taking Stock of the Rocky Mountain Snowpack As another winter ends with the U.S. West still in the grip of the worst megadrought in 1,200 years, scientists and water managers are looking at the state of the snowpack. Mountain snowpack is a natural reservoir: As it melts out over the course of the spring and summer, it provides a steady supply of water for millions of people […] SnowBrains | May 9, 2022 0 Comments
Snowfall Totally Transforms Sierra Nevada Snowpack in Just 3-Weeks What a difference three weeks has made. After the driest three months on record, the California April 1st snowpack survey had the statewide snowpack at 38% of average. Recent snow storms have dumped multiple feet on the northern Sierra, visibly transforming the snowpack as these satellite images show. The snow has allowed ski resorts to stay open longer, and some to […] SnowBrains | April 25, 2022 1 Comment
NOAA: Large Declines in Snowpack Across the U.S. West In many watersheds in the western United States, more water is stored in the mountain snowpack than in the region’s human-built reservoirs. As the climate has warmed, spring snowpack across the American West has declined by nearly 20 percent on average between 1955 and 2020—and by significantly more at some individual locations, according to an analysis by the U.S Environmental […] SnowBrains | April 8, 2022 0 Comments
California to Enter 3rd Year of Drought as Snowpack Officially “Well Below Average” California’s Sierra snowpack has fallen “well below average” in the third official measurement of the season the Department of Water Resources reported yesterday. The snow survey was taken at Phillips Station west of Lake Tahoe. “With only one month left in California’s wet season and no major storms in the forecast, Californians should plan for a third year of drought conditions. […] SnowBrains | March 2, 2022 0 Comments
Satellite Images Show How Much Sierra Nevada Snowpack Has Shrunk in Last Month What a difference a month makes. The above satellite images clearly show the melt that has occurred in the Sierra Nevada; the snowpack has visibly decreased from January. It has been a dry start to the year that has melted some of the Sierra snowpack and started to dry things out. Related: These Are the 11 Deepest Snowpacks in North America […] SnowBrains | February 18, 2022 0 Comments
Truckee, CA, Currently Experiencing Longest Winter Dry Spell Since 1990 Truckee, CA, is currently experiencing its most prolonged consecutive days without measurable precipitation during meteorological winter since 1990, reports The Sierra Sun. As of today, it has been 34-days. Related: SnowBrains Forecast: Looking Ahead – Where’s the Snow? The old record may be beaten with no precipitation in the forecast for at least the next couple of weeks. “It looks like […] SnowBrains | February 11, 2022 0 Comments
SnowBrains Forecast: Finally Some Snow in the Cascades | Up to 18″ to Start the Workweek Forecast by SnowBrains Meteorologist Nathan Tarino Last Updated 5:00 AM MST 1/30 Forecast Summary The second half of January has been pretty pathetic across the Western US, with a high amplitude ridge aloft centered smack over the Pacific Northwest pushing the storm track north into Canada. In Washington and Oregon, it really hasn’t snowed since January 12th. Below is a […] Weather Nathan Tarino | January 30, 2022 0 Comments
SnowBrains Forecast: New Year’s Storm Cycle for the PacNW | Good Snow Monday and Tuesday Forecast by SnowBrains meteorologist Nathan Tarino Last Updated 5 PM MST January 1st Forecast Summary A persistently cold and snowy pattern has kept conditions soft through the holidays and enabled the snowpack to bounce back after an abysmal November. Yet another snowy week is on tap across the Cascades, with heavy snow falling Sunday evening all the way through next […] Weather Nathan Tarino | January 1, 2022 0 Comments
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