California’s Snow Season Melts At Half of Average Totals

The snow season in California will come to a disappointing end.

Forecasters predict it will be about 55% of the current average. This year, if all the snow in the Sierra Nevada watershed was melted, it would be 15 inches. The USDA meteorologist says ideally, the number would be double, but states east of California are doing a little better.

“Areas that are doing a little bit better include areas from the Wasach range in Utah, eastward to the Central Rockies and parts of the northern tier of the region, from the northern Cascades to the northern most Rockies, actually did reasonably well this winter, so they’re in a little bit better shape hydrologically heading into the spring and summer melt seasons.”

Rippey says the traditional end of the snowpack date is late March or early April.

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