Re:California is free of drought for the first time in 25 years
by foolfoolz on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:00PM
(#46698827)
strange because this is one of the warmest winters in decades. snow levels are far below normal, i saw 8% of normal in truckee. full reservoirs now are great but keeping them filled depends on a long snow melt going into june. i don’t think this is going to be a good year for that
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Re:California is free of drought for the first time in 25 years
by luhn on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:05PM
(#46698879)
It's not quite that dire. Statewide 69% normal to date. Snowpack peaks March-April, so still have a ways to go in the season. https://snow.water.ca.gov
But yeah, snowmelt plays a huge role in supplying water into the summer, so just looking at precipitation totals isn't the full picture.
Re:California is free of drought for the first time in 25 years
by inanepenguin on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:41PM
(#46699239)
The warmth partially explains the rain. Storms far across the pacific have formed and traveled east to land on California. Unfortunately it also means, as you said, we can't capture as much of it as snow pack.
Re:California is free of drought for the first time in 25 years
by tverbeure on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:42PM
(#46699247)
Here's the data from the Berkeley snow lab, located along I80 at the Sugar Bowl exit: https://cssl.berkeley.edu/
Snowfall is currently 75% of normal.