Here’s the latest hint that California’s summertime wildfire season could be awful again: The June 1 state snowpack survey is abysmal - 0% of average.
It’s a rare year when there’s significant snow in the California mountains at the beginning of June, but to have next to none is unusual and consequential.
The California Department of Water Resources reported measurable snow at only three of its 131 monitoring stations: Mount Lassen, a lake north of Yosemite and another near Truckee. That means California’s already dry vegetation will get dryer each week, increasing fire danger.
"There’s likely to be little or no improvement and (if) temperatures are verified to be above normal during the summer then intensification of the ongoing drought will be likely as well," said Brad Pugh, a meteorologist with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
This marks two straight years of nearly no June snow pack after readings two years ago in June 2019, which were more than 200% of average after that great winter.
We’re still drinking that snowmelt.
Northern California reservoirs are at less than half of their capacity. Specifically, Lake Mendocino is at 37%, Lake Mendocino is 29% and Lake Shasta is 43%.
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