Giant Feb. Storms Match 2017 Record Snowpack At 153% Of Average

PHILLIPS, CA -- Along with national and regional climate experts, state water resources monitors put some hard numbers Thursday to the barrage of February storms that roared through California like a lion - with the state bracing for even more precipitation next week.

"What a difference a month and year makes," California Department of Water Resources spokesman Chris Orrock told the media gathered in a deep snow field off U.S. Highway 50 at the base of the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort road. Some journalists came as far away as Los Angeles to receive a reading on the monumental snowpack mounting in the Sierra Nevada mountains this winter.

The snow depth was tallied at 113 inches, a measurement the water officials planned for when they brought all parts of the pole the engineer plunges into the snow. The almost 10 feet equated to 43.5 inches in water content, a critical tally in determining water allocations for the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay Area. The figure represents a stark contrast from the 18 inches recorded just a mere month ago. This month's result amounts to the fifth largest snow survey taken in history. DWR conducts five each winter.

The Sierra Nevada mountains supply 30 percent of California's water needs. So, the 153 percent of average statewide was exciting news to those who study it and is only dwarfed by the fact the snowpack's water content has already met its seasonal mark that ends April 1 by 133 percent. And there's still all of March to go and no long dry spell forecasted by the National Weather Service.

According to the Weather Service, February turned out to be a blockbuster month for rainfall totals in the Bay Area -- blowing away all norms with these communities receiving:

• Santa Rosa got 17.09 inches; while normal is 6.02 inches
• Mountain View got 5.18 inches; while normal is 3.07 inches
• Downtown San Francisco got 7.94 inches; while normal is 4.46 inches
• Oakland got 6.07 inches; while normal is 3.95 inches
• Napa got 8.99 inches; while normal is 3.79 inches

"It was well above normal for most California locations," Weather Service meteorologist Scott Rowe told Patch from his Monterey office.

Rain drenched Bay Area hillsides burying one homeowner when her property gave way in Sausalito, turned Sonoma County communities into islands, created rivers on roads in Palm Springs, toppled trees and poles in saturated soils all over the state and blanketing Sierra Nevada ski areas with multiple feet per storm.

Sierra-at-Tahoe spokeswoman Sarah Sherman, who was on hand during the survey, said this February shattered the resort's record of 154 inches with nearly 100 more for this month.

"It's been a wild, wild month," she told Patch.

Squaw Valley on the opposite shoreline of Lake Tahoe boasted receiving about 20 feet -- sometimes more than what a ski resort can deal with. Sherman said her ski resort was forced to close one day because the roads were closed.

In contrast, water resources engineers reported that last year's March 1 survey resulted in 13.5 inches of snowpack on the ground and only 1.5 percent in water content. State water resources engineers take snow measurements in 260 locations in the Sierra Nevada range.

"This is a reminder of how variable California's climate can swing from flooding to drought," DWR spokeswoman Erin Mellon said, adding more extremes are expected.

Come spring, water officials will be eyeing the melt off in the hopes the potential for flooding won't be as great as the snowpack.

"It's possible we'll see a fast melt if we see warmer than average conditions," state Climatologist Mike Anderson said.

And there lies the bane and blessing of trying to manage the weather.

"With this wet winter and deep snow, we should have a good water supply, but there's a given risk of flooding," state hydrologist John Paasch said.

Water content is measured to gauge the supply to farmers and other consumers for the coming months. The state’s largest six reservoirs currently hold the following capacities compared to historical averages: 84 percent in Oroville; 137 percent in Melones. Lake Shasta, California’s largest surface reservoir, is 112 percent of its historical average.

This winter's drenching of California has baffled even climate experts.

"We'll be researching this," said Michelle L'Heureux, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climatologist told Patch.

Sure, it's a year characterized by a developed El Nino, the tropical weather phenomenon originating off the west coast of South America. But this winter was forecasted as a weak one.

"It's like someone pointing a firehose on California," she said. "That said, it's not completely clear whether the strong precipitation amounts are from El Nino, versus climate change versus the Madden Julian Oscillation."

The latter represents a snapshot of a weather condition.

She pointed to the jet stream bringing in storms faster and more furiously than usual. The jet stream has smacked the state head-on this February.