The weather pattern has been consistently active for Northern California and the entire West Coast for the last several weeks. So far, downtown Sacramento has measured over 6 inches of rain in the month of December, nearly double what’s normal for the month. In the Sierra, snowpack water content is more than 150% of normal for the date and the Central Sierra Snow Lab run by UC Berkeley set a December snowfall record with 193.7 inches of snow as of the 27th.
Here in Northern California, we’ve certainly felt the short-term impacts of all of the rain and snow from swampy yards and slow travel in the Valley to road closures lasting several days in the Sierra. Officials from the Department of Reclamation also released water from Folsom Lake late Monday night as water levels approached capacity for late December.
Given all of that, has there been a substantial change in California’s drought situation? The answer is “we’re getting there, but not there yet.”
While seeing Folsom Lake reach its capacity early in the season is encouraging, it’s important to remember the lake is relatively small and fills up quickly. Just a few months ago the lake level was at a record low.
A better bellwether for drought in this region is to look at Shasta and Oroville dams. As of Tuesday morning, the water level at Shasta was just 49% of normal for the date. Oroville, which has a cone-shaped bottom and can appear to fill quickly, is at 70%. Those numbers are certainly better than where they were at the end of summer, but in order to truly be clear of a drought, we need to see water levels rise closer to normal for the date.
Eventually, reservoirs will get some help from all of the water locked up in the Sierra snowpack. As of Tuesday morning, the North Sierra snowpack is at 145% of normal for the date. Those numbers are 166% and 167% of normal for the Central and South Sierra respectively. In a normal season, the snowpack will continue to grow through March. Right now the snowpack throughout the Sierra is about half of what we would hope to end up with by the end of the season with three months to go.
So in conclusion, we’ve seen a reduction in the severity of the drought in California but the weather pattern needs to stay consistently active throughout the winter to really get us over the hump and past this latest drought.
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