Snowpack levels in California’s mountains were at the highest level in 40 years Jan. 3 but time will tell whether the latest storms will help deliver enough water to the state to end a three-year drought streak, state water officials reported.
California’s snowpack was measured at 174 percent of the historical average for the year Tuesday, boosted by recent storms that drenched the state during the holidays and brought snow to the mountains.
The state could see even more rain and snow this week and into the weekend, bringing much-needed water supplies.
“While we see a terrific snowpack—and that in and of itself may be an opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief—we are by no means out of the woods when it comes to drought,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources.
The state could still face another year of drought this year as water reservoirs remain well below capacity.
State water officials took the year’s first official measurements of snow and water content near Phillips, a town east of Sacramento in the central Sierra Mountains, finding levels well above average for this time of year.
The snowpack in Phillips is 177 percent of the average. It was measured at 55.5 inches, which was enough to store 17.5 inches of water, according to Sean de Guzman, manager of the department’s snow surveys and water supply forecasting unit.
Last week’s series of storms caused flooding and damage but were warmer. Freezing elevations were around 7,000 feet, and the mountain snowpack statewide rose from 157 percent on average to 174 percent.
“We’ll take any kind of [precipitation] we can get, if it’s rainfall or snow at this point, just because we are in such a severe drought,” de Guzman said.
This week’s expected storm system should be colder and produce more snowpack.
Avalanche danger closes some Utah ski resorts
The recent incredible snowfalls surely have had most of us dreaming of powder days, but there can be too much of a good thing: several Utah resorts were unable to open in the last few days.
Sundance Mountain Resort announced on its social media channels that it would not be able open on Monday, January 2, 2023, due to extreme mountain weather conditions. Sundance had received 41 inches (1m) of snow, which unfortunately also contained a lot of moisture due to the low temperatures, making grooming a safe run impossible.
Sundance Mountain announced the following for operations this Tuesday, January 3, 2023:
‘In order to remove the many downed trees in the canyon Rocky Mountain Power will be closing SR92 tomorrow in order to get power back up as quickly as possible.
‘The canyon will close at 10 am until dark. There may be some intermittent openings but we would advise anyone who is coming to ski to plan to arrive at 10 am and stay until dark.
‘We will operate Outlaw Express as outlined below:
‘Rocky Mountain Power is working very hard to restore power. Hundreds of trees snapped affecting several power poles in the canyon. They have multiple line crews and a tree mitigation company working tirelessly. Latest projections on restoration of power may run into Wednesday.
‘We recognize the challenges this presents to many who want to be on the mountain and given the length of the anticipated outage and after further analysis of running one lift on diesel auxiliary power we have decided to open Outlaw Express only with limited terrain to season pass holders, S Card holders and lodging guests tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 3rd). We will not be selling any day passes. We feel comfortable operating Outlaw Express temporarily on auxiliary power due to the investment made in a backup to the auxiliary power.
‘The beginner area (magic carpets) will not be able to operate. Maverick terrain park will not be open but we anticipate opening the small park on Stampede. With the limited terrain and single lift operating, lines will likely be long and we would encourage those who can wait to come once we have power restored and can operate all our lifts.
‘We are very grateful to our incredible mountain team who have worked so hard during this incredible storm. Thanks again for your understanding and support of Sundance!’
Other resorts affected by the snow masses are Alta Ski Area, which had to announce a closer for the day on Monday, and neighboring Snowbird. Alta and Snowbird received 37 inches (94cm) of wet snow in the recent snowstorm, which also increased the avalanche risk here.
Little Cottonwood Canyon and Highway 210 leading to Alta were closed to all traffic from Saturday, December 31, 2022, from 10 p.m. until Monday for avalanche mitigation. Both resorts were able to reopen on Monday afternoon.
Check the UDOT website for traffic updates before traveling, and stay safe out there! Be aware, ‘Interlodge’ or ‘Straight Line Travel’ orders may be in place in Alta or Snowbird.
Purgatory ski resort in Colorado records 23 inches of snow in 24 hours
Resort officials are ringing in the new year with another deep powder day at Purgatory Resort in Durango, Colo. Monday, Purgatory received 23 inches of snow in 24 hours, bringing storm totals to 53 inches over the past 7 days.
Purgatory’s mid-mountain base is now 52 inches with 102 open trails.
Purgatory is the only resort in North America that offers free unlimited skiing and riding to all kids ages 12 and under – no blackout days or purchase required. Guests can stop by the outside ticket window to pick up a free ticket for their little rippers. Please note proof of age is required.
Will the politicians build reservoirs to allow the melt water to provide water for California or will they dump it all in the ocean & pass laws to destroy the agricultural business in California & force hardships on citizens in the name of saving water?
So far they have done NOTHING to increase water for California, or to even maintain the infrastructure already in place. Most of California is near the ocean & could be served by desalinization plants like those in Saudi Arabia. Placing those on platforms that produce electricity with the tides & wave motions would be a twofer for California. California is suffering greatly from a lack of both fresh water & electricity & the politicians who have presumably been “elected” by the people do noting to alleviate it. They only make it worse AND pass more & more restrictive laws to control the citizens. They could not do more to harm the state & its citizens if they tried to do so on purpose. Elections have consequences & so does ignoring how important election security is.
https://newspunch.com/breakthrough-study-scientists-confirm-climate-change-is-a-scam/
Climate Change is a scam. Good read if interested.
Well, we don’t really know the results of these weather wars, do we. Stay awake. There may be more coming to California.
I have seen some of the weather wars patents, believe me, lots of countries in the world are involved.
Watch out for those earthquake wars too. ?
We shall see, but I won’t be surprised if they keep the reservoirs low. Not because of some fish and not because they want to hurt the public. But because they are concerned about the big EQs that are expected at any time. And a full reservoir that fails will destroy much of the Central Valley. Having water problems is the lesser of two evils.
?That’s a good hypothesis, Gary.
Everyone complains about too much snow, to me I see a abundance supply of fresh water if collected correctly… I also notice some of those regions in the U.S which has had heaps of snow often have a lot of drought. Why do they let it go to waste?
Because they hate us.
They have oikophobia too. Similar, but more comprehensive hate.
All that snow pack and the government goonies are still pushing drought fear psyops. Gotta keep that grant money and funding for horseshit science flowing.
Ya know…if California built MORE reservoirs instead of spending BILLIOND on a Train To Nowhere, they would have plenty of Water.
Oh that ‘Delta Smelt’…it’s Gone with The Schwinn Greenies!!!
Billions…
The lefties are simply anal retentive control freaks.
I remember skiing Utah. About 40 seasons. I enjoyed Park City since we had a condo there. My runs were Payday, Widowmaker, Naildriver, Powder Keg, Dynamite. Back in those days, Main Street in Park City was a one road town. You had Claim Jumper for steaks, and Utah Coal & Lumber house for good Mexican food. There was an old theater up the road. If you wanted fishing gear, then there was Jan’s. It’s all changed now, but it used to be a old silver mining town with alot of charm.
Later on, father built his retirement home, and we skiied in Deer Valley, by Stein Ericson’s Lodge. Matter of fact, when I was very young I had a lesson with Stein. Later my ski instructor was Mary Lou, and she was so much fun. When I would take a fall, she would say, watch out for those snow snakes. We were just kids then. lolollolllollllolllll
On those potential avalanches:
I remember ski patrol had mortars, and could blast slopes, trigger the avalanche, and prevent a disaster. They would rope off runs, and you couldn’t ski on those runs. Avalanche warnings were posted too. You could here the mortar blasts. I always asked if I could go with ski patrol and watch them, but they said, nope. I was a precocious kid then.
We voted years ago to fund new water catchment, reservoirs etc. The “train” is just a black hole for funding. Everything goes into the general fund. I love this state and hate what’s being done. Smelt are great fried in cornmeal.
Dania,
It’s probably the most beautiful and diverse of all the States. The Political System is controlled by some of the very worst that can be found. I spent most of my early life there and there’s nowhere else like it. But you should consider getting out ASAP. Also, I think they have plenty of water storage available, they are just not letting them fill for reason I stated above.
Gary,
Since the new age (1980’s) there is a witchcraft shop on every corner. Too many people living under false religions, and too many fake gurus. Spreads like herpes and buttmonkey-pox. Alot of dope too.