(Bloomberg) — A massive storm aimed at California may help the state, which has been struggling with a snow drought through much of the winter.
At least 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow is expected to fall between 3,000 feet and 4,000 feet (900 to 1,200 meters) across mountains in northern and eastern California through next week, said Ashton Robinson Cook, a forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center. Up to 8 feet are forecast to fall at higher elevations as a winter storm watch covers much of the area.
“There is going to be a fairly continuous period of snow starting late Sunday night across the Sierra,” Robinson Cook said. While there may be a lull in some of the storms Tuesday, the snow chances will continue through Wednesday.
The snow drought is hurting much of the US West, including California, which depends on snow for its annual water supplies. Storms have either brought too much rain even at high elevations, or, as was the case through most of January, they haven’t arrived at all. California gets most of its water from Pacific storms between October and April, with nearly half arriving in December, January and February.
The snow drought is affecting 37% of monitoring stations in California and 77% in Nevada, the National Integrated Drought Information System said. In the last 30 days, the water contained in the snowpack has decreased 20% across California, according to the agency.
In the key upper Colorado River basin, which provides water to California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico, the snow-water equivalent has been at its lower point since water year 1986.
Deep snows in the Sierra Nevada range in eastern California would be a start toward helping the region. However, the long-term prospects for more storms through March are uncertain, the National Integrated Drought Information System said.
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