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Snowpack. Snowpack is an accumulation of snow that compresses with time and melts seasonally, often at high elevation or high latitude. [1][2] Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt, sometimes leading to flooding. Snowpacks provide water to down-slope communities for drinking and agriculture. [3]
Droughts in California. The historical and ongoing droughts in California result from various complex meteorological phenomena, some of which are not fully understood by scientists. Drought is generally defined as "a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time (usually a season or more), resulting in a water shortage." [1]
Snowpack has historically made up around two-thirds of California’s total water supply. State scientists have surveyed snow since 1941 as a key tool to forecast future supply for farms and cities.
By April 2022, snowpack was at just 35% of average levels. The big melt has begun, but plenty of snow remains. DWR's most recent reading shows statewide snowpack at 243% of the average May level .
The climate of California varies widely from hot desert to alpine tundra, depending on latitude, elevation, and proximity to the Pacific Coast. California 's coastal regions, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and much of the Central Valley have a Mediterranean climate, with warmer, drier weather in summer and cooler, wetter weather in winter.
On Jan. 31, snowpack in Central Sierra was 53% of normal, while Southern Sierra was at 36%, data from the California Department of Water Resources shows. As of Feb. 14, those numbers are at 70% ...
Average precipitation. The characteristics of United States rainfall climatology differ significantly across the United States and those under United States sovereignty. Summer and early fall bring brief, but frequent thundershowers and tropical cyclones which create a wet summer and drier winter in the eastern Gulf and lower East Coast.
California has entered spring with an above-average mountain snowpack and major reservoirs in good shape for a second consecutive year, staving off immediate water supply concerns but not allaying ...