And here I thought we had a huge year. Must be the law of shifting baselines. With more bad years than good years lately, even a normal year is starting to feel like a great year, ya know?
Of course my thoughts are always with ski conditions, but there is a much more serious concern: water resources for all of us around California.
For more on CA water resources see here.
From Mercury News:
There appears to be plenty of snow in the Sierra Nevada, but California water officials said Thursday it falls short of the amount needed to replenish the state's reservoirs.
Across the 400-mile-long mountain range, the snowpack is holding about 81 percent of its usual statewide water content, according to the fourth Sierra snow survey conducted by the state Department of Water Resources.
The department's snow chief, Frank Gehrke, says the snowpack needed to be between 120 percent and 130 percent of average by the beginning of April to replenish the state's key reservoirs.
The smaller snowpack follows two previously dry winters and is one reason farmers and cities throughout California — including in Silicon Valley — have been told they will get less water this year.
"It's not nearly enough to bolster the water supply picture statewide," said Gehrke.