Despite a slew of storms that have recently passed through California, below-average snowpack is fueling worries that the state's water crisis might return.
California battled years of drought before an abnormally wet winter last year drastically improved the state's water supply. More than a dozen atmospheric rivers laden with rain and snow pummeled the West Coast, alleviating much of California's drought and supplementing snowpack levels in the mountains to more than double the historical average in some places. When the snow melted in the spring and summer, the runoff greatly added to some of California's most impacted reservoirs, making for an impressive recovery.
Now, most of the state's largest reservoirs are near their historical average if not exceeding it. However, experts warned last winter that one wet season wasn't enough to replenish the state's water reserves, and a lack of snow this season—also known as a snow drought—is raising concerns that the crisis could return.
According to data from the California Department of Water Resources, most of the state's reservoirs aren't at capacity, but their water levels are at or above the historical average. For example, at 93 percent capacity, Diamond Valley Lake in Southern California is at 130 percent historical average. Pine Flat Lake is only 61 percent of capacity but is 175 percent of its historical average.
In Northern California, Lake Shasta also is over 100 percent of its historical average at 69 percent capacity, a drastic improvement from late November 2022 when it was at 31 percent.
It remains unclear how the reservoirs will respond to the limited snowpack so far this year. Despite this season's winter storms, snowfall in the Sierra Nevada mountains is below normal. When state officials conducted a snow survey throughout the mountain range earlier this week, numbers fell far below average in each of the locations studied.
"In some cases, there is literally no measurable snow on the ground at all," said climate scientist Daniel Swain, a UCLA professor who spoke during a press briefing on Tuesday, according to a New York Times report. "What this means is that right now, as of today, snowpack is at or below all-time record-low numbers for the beginning of January, and I know that's pretty alarming."
When reached for comment, the California Department of Water Resources directed Newsweek to a press release that included the snow survey data. In the northern Sierra mountains, snowpack was only 38 percent of its average. The levels turned even more dire southward. Snowpack in the central Sierra Nevada mountains was only 34 percent of average, and only 27 percent in the southern peaks.
Despite the healthy condition of most California reservoirs, the numbers are concerning, as the state relies on snowmelt in the warmer months to supplement a third of its water supply, the press release said. Last March, when the California Department of Water Resources surveyed the southern Sierra Mountains, they were at 257 percent of the average snowpack.
There is still time for the state to recover from its slow start and meet snowpack averages this winter. However, warm, wet weather spurred by El Niño's climate pattern is hampering those hopes. El Niño is predicted to bring above-average precipitation to the southern U.S. this year, including parts of California, but that precipitation will mostly come in the form of rain, given the above-average winter temperatures.
About the writer
Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
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