California's Winter Storms Boost Reservoirs and Snowpack, Easing Drought

Heavy rain and snow have pounded California in recent weeks, causing floods, power outages, mudslides and other disruptions, but the storms have also filled reservoirs and deepened the Sierra Nevada snowpack, easing drought concerns across the state. The near-constant pace of storms has brought above-average precipitation, driving storage levels in most of California’s water reservoirs to well above normal for this point in the rainy season, and measurements now show virtually no drought.

"This is actually an exceptional wet period, something of the opposite of a drought," said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California system, who noted it is common for the state to recover from drought during winter though it has been a few years since serious drought levels were seen.

Experts cautioned that uncertainty remains. "This is really like the second quarter of a football game," said Jeffrey Mount of the Public Policy Institute of California, saying it is unclear how much more precipitation will fall.

Key Topics

Science, California, Sierra Nevada, Reservoirs, Snowpack, Daniel Swain