Is the drought over? Not quite, and we still need to conserve. California has the heaviest snowpack in 22 years. Snow levels in the Sierra Nevada Mountains—a source for about 30 percent of the drinking water for Southern California—have more than quadrupled in one month. Water content contained within the 90.3 inches of snow measured in the central Sierra Nevada contain a water equivalent of 28.1 inches, up from only 6 inches on Jan. 3, the largest since February 2005. Electronic readings from 101 stations in the Sierra Nevada show the snowpack holds 31 inches of water, or about 173 percent of the average for this time of year. Satellite data from NASA shows the snow-water deficit today is what it used to be before the state’s five-year drought began in 2012. Bob Muir, spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said, “It is trending to be a drought-busting year.” But Noah Molotch, who led the JPL-University of Colorado study, said the state is still years away from making up its snow-water deficit completely. “One snowy winter won’t be able to entirely reverse that, but there is, at least, some cautious optimism,” Molotch said. Muir said the residents of Southern California and the cities should continue water conservation plans because long-range forecasts are unpredictable. “I don’t want anybody flooded out with euphoria yet,” he said. Weather forecasters predict more rain and snow in Northern California for the next five to seven days.
