The New York Times published a very informative, eye-opening article about the Sierra Nevada snowpack and California’s drought today.

The article informs us that moving forward, climate change is going to mean more rain and less snow for the Sierra Nevada and that will equate to big problems for the California water supply.  Somewhere around 23 million Californian’s get their water from Sierra Nevada and Cascade snowmelt.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Thanks in part to El Niño, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is greater than it has been in years. With the winter snowfall season winding down, California officials said that the pack peaked two weeks ago at 87 percent of the long-term average.

That’s far better than last year, when it was just 5 percent of normal and Gov. Jerry Brown announced restrictions on water use after four years of severe drought. But the drought is still far from over, especially in Southern California, where El Niño did not bring many major storms.

Despite the better news this year, there are plenty of worrying signs about the Sierra snowpack, which provides about 30 percent of the water Californians use after it melts and flows into rivers and reservoirs, according to the state Department of Water Resources. – Henry Fountain/New York Times

Read the full article here:

Sierra Nevada Snow Won’t End California’s Thirst