SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – With a very dry winter in the Sierra before last week, many wondered when the next snowflakes would fall. That question was put to rest as several feet of snow fell at Lake Tahoe resorts and along the Sierra crest.
The State of California’s Department of Water Resources will conduct its first official snow survey of the season on December 30. Still, many answers to our snow amount questions can be found through the electronic snow measurements taken in the state daily.
As of Saturday, December 27, the state is at 69 percent of average for this date, with the northern region measuring 44 percent of average, the central region at 73 percent, and the southern region at 95 percent. The Lake Tahoe Basin is in the central region.
The Department of Water Resources has been measuring the snowpack for 96 years and uses the information to not only disperse water during the spring melt, but also to better determine the effects of climate change and buffer against drought conditions when they exist.
California’s snowpack acts as a natural reservoir, storing water in the form of snow during the colder months and gradually releasing it as meltwater during the warmer months. This meltwater feeds into rivers and streams, providing a significant portion of the state’s water supply for agricultural, urban, and industrial use. About 30 percent of the state’s freshwater is supplied by that snowpack.
The stored water in the snowpack serves as a buffer against drought conditions. In times of low precipitation or reduced water availability, the gradual melt of the snowpack ensures a relatively steady flow of water downstream, helping to alleviate the impact of drought on water availability.
