SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The snowpack measurement in the Sierra today was almost 200% higher than the average. However, this could mean flooding downstream if the weather in the mountains heats up early this year.
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Following the second manual snow survey of the season at the Philips Station in the Sierra Nevada, the California Department of Water Resources revealed that snowpack water content is at 193% of average for Feb 1.
"As someone who's been worrying mostly about drought for the last decade, it's nice to be worried about something a little different," Jay Lund, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis, told KCBS Radio.
At Philips Station, DWR officials measured 85 inches of snow and calculated that statewide snowpack has reached 205% of normal.
"If it becomes very warm, and even more-so if you have some very warm storms that come in so that it not only adds rain to the runoff, but also melts some of the snow or much of the snow, then you can get the runoff coming off in a pretty big way," Lund warned.
Due to the threat of flooding, the operators of some reservoirs have been releasing water across California to make sure they’re ready to serve their other purpose: flood control.
If the snowpack does melt early, Lund reassured all the systems are in place. "It's a little bit like hurricanes on the East Coast. They're pretty ready for hurricanes, but every time you get one you're going to see some problems and some challenges, so I think that's the kind of condition that we’re in here," he said.
But will the series of atmospheric rivers in January that caused this elevated snowpack bust the California drought? As of now, officials say it's too soon to tell.
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