Tuesday, 01 May 2007 23:16
Fire Season Could Begin Early With Lowest Snow Pack In Nearly A Two Decades
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According to local weather
watcher Jimmy Nettle our rainfall this year is less than half of what it was
last year. Last year was an extremely wet year, true, but how does this year’s
20 plus inches of rain compare with an average year? According to National Weather Service statistics the
average rainfall for the county is 28 inches per year. Although there
are technically still two full months left in the rainfall season it is
doubtful we will get another 8 inches of rain. Statewide this is the trend and now the State Department
of Water resources has issued concerning statements regarding the California
Water Supply. This is the lightest Sierra snow pack since 1989 according to the
DWR.
This year, the snow pack
was at its maximum depth the second week of March. To make the news even worse
in many areas as low as 6,000 or even 7,000 feet the snow has already melted.
This means less melting snow running down mountain rivers and streams into the
state’s crucial reservoir and canal system. According to the DWR, although California has regional dry spells from time
to time, the outlook statewide has not been this dry since 1988.
Although water levels appear to be adequate because of wet winters in 2005 and
2006, the immediate concern is wild land fire and the fire season which could
begin earlier then normal this year. The DWR is conducting the final snow
survey of the season this today.
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