As of Monday, snowfall around the University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab this month hit a record 492 cm this month. The previous record dates back to 1970 and was 456.4 cm.
About 99 cm of snow fell there only in the last 24 hours. According to forecasts, precipitation in December may exceed a total of 508 cm.
According to an American newspaper, the lab was built in 1946 by the Office of Water Resources (USWB) and the Army’s Engineering Authority. It holds one of the world’s longest manual snow depth records, dating back to 1879.
“It was a very favorable snowstorm for the Sierra,” said Dan McEvoy, a climate scientist at the Western Regional Climate Center.
According to McEvoy, rainfall in December caused snow cover. The older ones were wetter, the snow was at a higher altitude, but then the temperature and the amount of snow decreased.
“This is good for both water and avalanches,” McEvoy explained. He added that it would also help maintain good snow conditions at ski resorts, even in the case of drought in the area.
“December has been quite impressive,” McEvoy said, but cautioned that the drought could re-emerge.
– If I have one thing to note, it’s that the drought isn’t over yet. The climate scientist explained that we need storms in the winter.
In mid-October, the Los Angeles Times warned that Lake Tahoe’s water level is too low to feed the only Truckee River that flows from it, threatening salmon migrations as well as tourism.
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