The good news is we are in for a good rafting and kayaking season in California this year. The April snowpack measurements came in right at average.. about 96% of normal to be exact.

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44th Annual Kern River Festival is Happening April 19 & 20 (Sat – Sun).

The Line Up:

• Saturday, 4/19 – Raft Races, Slalom practice, Poker Run, Brush Creek Race (pending FS permit approval).
• Sunday, 4/20 – Wildwater race, T.J. Citizen Slalom race (Junior Olympic qualifier).

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It’s official. The 2008 California whitewater rafting season is underway. The North Fork American River was flowing around 100cfs early in the week.

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Well this mild system is getting ready to move out of the Sierra… there is light chance of some isolated snow showers early today. For some mountain resorts its going out a bang… Kirkwood, Big Bear and Mt High receiving the most. All in all we added a foot or 2 in the mountains since the storm moved in Thursday. But a foot is a foot when you consider the upcoming California whitewater rafting season. Read more…

The Northern Sierra is getting hit once again. Fresh tracks can be found at any Tahoe mountain resort. It seems the 80 Cooridor and Truckee / North Lake Tahoe area.

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As expected, a small weather system has come in off the Pacific resulting in scattered rain and snow showers. The system is expected to last through Sunday. Many area ski resorts are reporting small amounts of fesh powder.. adding to our above average snowpack.

So far the majority of the precipitation has been localized to the Truckee / North Lake Tahoe area.

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As of current reports its snowing in the mountains and there are rivers flowing down in the foothills.

A system rolled into the Sierras early this morning and is expected to hang out for the next few days. There are no predictions as how much snow is expected.. just stated as 60% chance of snow.

Meanwhile, the North and South Forks of the American River have been flowing well the last few days for both rafts and kayaks.

The Merced is also rising… as of last check.. 1400 CFS at Briceburg.

It’s springtime folks… rafting and kayak season is upon us.

Oh.. and don’t forget.. This weekend is the California Rivers Festival in Fair Oaks.

Here’s something pretty cool.

Camera Spots Wolverine in Sierra Nevada
By STEVE LAWRENCE, AP Posted: 2008-03-08 08:26:36 Filed Under: Science News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 7) – A research project aimed at weasels has turned up a bigger prize: a picture of a wolverine, an elusive animal scientists feared may have been driven out of the Sierra Nevada long ago by human activity.

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced a state average of 118% of normal. This is outstanding news for the California rafting industry. But lets not get ahead of ourselves yet. A lot can happen in the next few month… we could double our snowpack or lose a bunch of it.

Quoted from CDEC Snow Survey Reports (PDF):
Today’s snow survey was the third of the 2008 snowfall season. The most recent electronic sensor readings show Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 122 percent of normal for this date, the Central Sierra at 110 percent, and the Southern Sierra at 130 percent. Statewide, the percentage of normal is at 118 percent. Electronic sensor readings one year ago showed the Northern Sierra at 69 percent of normal, the Central Sierra at 64 percent and the Southern Sierra at 52 percent. The statewide average was 63 percent.

What better way can you start off your week then a ton of fresh snow. The last of this latest storm series was more than plentiful in the Norther & Central Sierra. SoCal wan’t as fortunate.

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