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Heavy snow in the Sierra’s and rain in Southern California brings some drought relief

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 18, 2007 at 4:36 pm

From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:

A slow-moving storm churning across California is expected to drop several feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada and bring much-needed relief to depleted reservoirs. It also prompted flash-flood warnings in fire-scarred parts of Southern California.

The downpour that started Monday is part of a storm wave that is expected to bring rain and snow to California into the new year. “It’s actually a pretty active pattern,” Kyle Mozley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Reno, Nev., office said Tuesday. “It looks like this could be a pretty good white Christmas. It’s just one storm after another. The ski resorts are happy about that.” The first wave brought about an inch of rain across Northern California on Monday and Tuesday.

Since July 1, California has received 61 percent of its normal precipitation, a worrisome sign for state water managers after the state had its lowest snowpack in 19 years last winter. Reservoirs were at 83 percent of average for Dec. 1, compared to 121 percent at the same time last year.

State water officials have worried that a second winter of below-average precipitation would further strain the state’s water-delivery system and force rationing. “We’re always happy to see rain here,” state hydrologist Maury Roos said. “(The storm) doesn’t get us up to normal for this time of year, but a couple more of these will help.”

To read the full text of the story from Riverside’s Press-Enterprise, click here.

December 18, 2007 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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