It’s been an incredible past two months for California with the drought area shrinking in dramatic fashion. I love snow and always love to see big snow years in the High Sierra, particularly between Tahoe and Mammoth where average annual totals range between 200-450″ but have been known to reach between 600-800″. I remember fondly the 2005-06 winter when Kirkwood Mountain saw 804″ and in winter 2010-11 when Mammoth Mountain saw 668.5″
This year is turning out to be one of those greats.
California just experienced it’s wettest Oct-Feb period in 122 years!
What a difference a year makes!
Feb 2016 vs 2017
Drought relief isn’t cut and dried though!
In comes the NEXT storm.
Credit: Tropical Tidbits
Credit: Tropical Tidbits
Credit: Tropical Tidbits
Credit: weather.com
Credit: weather.com
Credit: Tropical Tidbits
As of March 2, parts of the Sierra have over 200 inches of snow on the ground, according to the National Resources Conservation Service.
Leavitt Lake, California (9604 feet elevation): 240 inches
Mt. Rose Ski Area, Nevada (8801 feet elevation): 207 inches
Mammoth Mountain, California (8,909 feet elevation): 200 inches
A survey of the Sierra snowpack’s water content on March 1 found near historic values from 1983 in the central and southern Sierra, and well-above average water content in the northern Sierra.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Back in March 1911, Tamarack Lodge, CA was buried beneath 451″ (over 37ft) of snow. As well as being the greatest snow depth ever recorded in North America, their seasonal total was 884″ during the winter of 1906-1907 which is a California record.
Recent Comments