DONNER PASS (CBS SF) — Mother Nature has taken the Sierra on a wild ride over the last three months. Just ask the researchers at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab nestled in the mountains near the famed Donner Pass.
With the dramatic shift in weather from wet to dry has come a change of tone from the UC research team, as a new unflattering record has been established.
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“Record broken: Our lack of storms over the last month has now led to the longest consecutive period without measurable #precipitation during meteorological winter (WY 1971-2022) with 32 since our last #snowfall. The previous record was 31 days in 1990,” the lab posted on Twitter this week.
Record broken: Our lack of storms over the last month has now led to the longest consecutive period without measurable #precipitation during meteorological winter (WY 1971-2022) with 32 since our last #snowfall.
The previous record was 31 days in 1990. 1/2#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/8Ht4lbTETV
— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) February 9, 2022
“This, unfortunately, is another record that we’re going to smash. Our next shot at #snow isn’t for another week and it’s not guaranteed,” the Twitter string continued. “Fingers crossed that we start seeing snow again soon. Temperatures are above avg for this time of year and snowmelt is accelerating.”
Andrew Schwartz, Ph.D., the lead scientist and station manager of the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab, talked to KPIX 5 about the record dry spell, which continued Thursday.
“We are now at 33 days without any type of precipitation. And that’s the longest in a winter period that we’ve ever gone here, going all the way back to 1970. And so, that is very concerning,” Schwartz said.
In mid-December a series of storms swept though the mountains dumping snow measured in feet, not in inches. By Dec. 16, the 7-day total had reached more than 6 feet and flurries were still falling. The photo posted on social media by the UC lab staff was a wintry scene that brought joy and relief to Northern Californians mired in an extreme drought.
A new 16.3″ (~41cm) of #snow over the last 24 hours, which brings our 7 day total to nearly 80″ (203 cm)!
We still have flurries this morning and clouds are starting to break up, which will lead to a couple days of calm weather. More snow on the way though!#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/2N2bK5GQTk
— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) December 16, 2021
“We are now at 158% of average for snowfall for this time of year,” the researchers happily posted.
Then came January.
“January had the 4th lowest snowfall and 5th lowest precip since 1971 at the lab,” the researchers posted on Twitter. “Luckily, the water from those December storms is still in the #snowpack and we’re at 112% of our median snow water equivalent. We need more to avoid falling below avg though!”
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But the dry spell has continued into February. The monthly snowpack measurement on Feb. 1 by the state Department of Water Resources delivered the bad news for the region.
The amount of water in the Sierra Nevada mountain’s snowpack was at 92% of what’s normal for Feb. 1. In December, heavy rain and snow left the state with 160% of its average snow water content.
“That one dry month of January basically wiped out whatever head start we had as we head towards the end of winter,” Sean de Guzman, manager of the department’s snow surveys and water supply forecasting section.
Alvar Escriva-Bou, Senior Fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center, told KPIX 5 he wasn’t surprised by the extreme precipitation variability. There are drier than average periods, and wetter than average periods.
“It totally fits the pattern. We are being less and less surprised from these climatic extremes. This is really kind of sad, and it puts a lot of stress and challenges in the ways that we manage our system,” Escriva-Bou said. “What we are seeing is that we have the same amount on average, but the variability – both within a year, but also across years – is changing a lot.”
And now, the skies are clear, the temperatures have been on the rise in the Sierra and no storms are in the long-term forecast.
“We don’t see an end in sight right now. Some of the longer range models are suggesting we could see a little bit of a change in the pattern in March, but that is yet to be seen. Of course, we’re crossing our fingers as best as we can, but nothing is guaranteed at this point,” Schwartz said.
In the meantime, unseasonably warm temperatures for February are causing snowmelt much earlier than expected. “We are starting to see those classic signs of melt and those are things that we’re hoping we wouldn’t see until April, or May even,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz said saving water is key. “The big word right now is conservation. Water conservation. We’ve all grown very accustomed to it in the drought years. It’s something we need to practice day in and day out. These types of long dry periods are why we have to be conserving our water,” he said.
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Max Darrow contributed reporting.
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.