California Snowpack Report January 2008

The good news is we have a stable California snowpack rich in water content. Majority of the storm systems this winter have left us with good, wet, sticky snow. Since the last round of storms the daily and overnight temps have been cold so what snow we have isn’t melting.

The Stats
The Northern California snowpack is hovering somewhere around 70%. That’s pretty good with only two major storms in the last 6 weeks. The state average is 16% of normal which sounds really low but you have to take into consideration that Southern California is part of this average. SoCal has received minimal snow fall this year but… the majority of the best rafting is in Northern California which is 70%.

Predictions?
No Predicitions… it’s way to early for that. Winter has just started and we still have months to go. There has been some hear-say going around about some mild El Nino like patterns somewhere in the Indian Ocean I think. When this starts happening, I’ve noticed California…

• Have longer single storm durations leaving more than normal amounts but with fewer storm in the winter months
• Have more intense late spring storms which end up making what would typically be a bad water year into a great one.

The bottom line… Grab your skis or snowboard and go have some winter fun while we wait to see how the California snowpack unfolds over the next few months.