At the end of February, the Sierra Snow Pack was a dismal 22% of normal.
The media and social networking sites were abuzz with predictions of gloom and doom.
Then March came along, with a series of storms dumping massive amounts of snow, bringing the statewide average to 58%.
Ordinarily, 58% is nothing to write home about, as we depend on that snow to fill our reservoirs and provide drinking water. What’s different, and encouraging, is that fact that the storms also brought rain, and lots of it. Helping to fill our reservoirs to record levels.
Folsom Lake, for example, is usually just over half full this time of year, peaking around the beginning of June at about 80% of capacity.
Today, it stands at 85% of capacity, and with the new spillway completed, Folsom Dam operators are able to hold more water than in the past without risk of flooding.
“Even if the snow pack never gets to ‘normal,’ and it probably will not, things are not in that bad of shape for the coming season,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Ken Clark said.
So, it looks like we won’t be having any water shortages this year, but as always, it’s a good idea to conserve.