20 inches of rain, 12 feet of snow finally end 5-year drought in N. California
Stations up and down the Sierra mountain chain reported twice the amount of normal rain and snow for this time of year after snowstorms doubled the vital snowpack there that provides the state with much of its year-round water supply.
U.S. Drought Monitor: California
A plethora of Pacific storms and moisture slammed into California and most of the West, dumping copious amounts of precipitation on the northern two-thirds of the state and Sierra Nevada. This very wet week maintained the great start to the Water Year (since Oct. 1) across the West where NRCS SNOTEL basin average precipitation was above or much above normal at nearly every major basin while basin average snow water content was at or above normal in most Western basins. With more than a foot of precipitation falling on the Sierra Nevada (locally 20.7 inches at Strawberry Valley, CA), most major reservoirs were at or above its Jan. 10 historical average, USGS monitored streams were at near or record high flows, Jan. 10 state snow water content was at 135%, and the Northern Sierra 8-station, San Joaquin 5-station, and Tulare Basin 6-station precipitation indices topped their wettest previous year as of Jan. 10.
A plethora of storms. Imagine that!
Even though my ferry was canceled one day, and there's definitely water everywhere, it's a merry, merry sight.
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