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Thursday’s top of the scroll: Sierra snowpack below average despite recent storms

Posted by: Maven on December 31, 2009 at 8:10 am

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:

“California’s first snow survey of the winter showed the Sierra snowpack below normal Wednesday despite a series of storms that has drenched much of the state and pleased ski resort operators.

The state Department of Water Resources reported the findings from monitors located along the 400-mile-long Sierra Nevada. The snowpack, which is the source for much of the water used by California cities and farms, contains about 85 percent of its usual water content for this time of year.

Sue Sims, the water department’s chief deputy director, said the results suggest California may be facing a fourth year of drought.

“Despite some recent storms, today’s snow survey shows that we’re still playing catch-up when it comes to our statewide water supplies,” Sims said in a statement in which she also urged conservation. … “

Read more from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

” … “What we’re finding this year is really pretty close to last year,” said Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources, after finishing the last measurement at historic Phillips Station, next to the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort off Highway 50. “It’s a little lower in the north. It gets better as we go south, but we’ve got a lot of winter left. Everything depends on what happens between now and April.”

The water content of the snow – the key measurement for how much water will flow into reservoirs – is 85 percent of normal for this date, according to the average of five measurements. It was 76 percent of normal last year.

The measurement in a field covered in a blanket of white near the privately owned cabin known as Phillips Station is traditionally where the department announces the results of the first snow survey of the season. The spot, at 6,800 feet, normally represents the median of the five spots where snowpack is measured. This year was no different. … “

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

From Stockton’s Record:

” … Gauges in the Mokelumne and Stanislaus river basins, which feed much of San Joaquin County, are even lower on average than their neighbors to the north or south. Most manual snow surveys, however, have not yet been conducted. And most of California’s December-through-March wet season lies ahead, providing hope that the state can avoid another year of drought.

Forecasters also are predicting a moderate to strong El Niño effect this winter. The periodic warming along the equatorial Pacific generally produces heavier-than-normal precipitation in California.

Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sacramento, said Northern California has “an excellent shot of getting above-average precipitation” through early March.

“If we have an above-normal year this year, it will really ease the drought conditions,” she said. … “

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

” … That figure may seem promising. But it’s actually modest given the gloomy water-shortage picture of the past few years, and big snowmakers are desperately needed if the state has any chance of gaining ground against a four-year drought.

Otherwise, farmland and farmworkers will remain idle. Bans on commercial salmon catches likely will be extended, and ratepayers will have to pay more for less.

The San Diego region’s dependence on the Sierra Nevada snowpack flucuates, but generally between a third and half of the region’s needs are covered by supplies from the north. … “

Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.

From the Manteca Bulletin:

“The Department of Water Resources is still sticking to its earlier estimate that they will deliver only 5 percent of contracted water to urban and agricultural users throughout the state including the Bay Area.

South San Joaquin Irrigation District General Manager Jeff Shields concurs with the state’s observations that the drought is far from over. “It is really too early in the season,” Shields said.

Shields noted that New Melones Reservoir – the main storage facility on the Stanislaus River – is so low that it would be tough to fill it up this season. Shields noted the wet “El Nino” weather pattern – should it fully materialize this winter – won’t be enough to break the impacts of three years of drought. … “

Read more from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.

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December 31, 2009 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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