California Snowpack Update
Posted March 5, 2009 by Malina
Like the snow, the good news keeps getting better! In case you haven’t noticed, we here in Northern California have been getting pummeled with wet weather, whipping winds, and rushing water. The South Fork of the American River, which flows along our River Center property, is fat and brown from rainwater and run-off and all the local creeks are pumping!
When it comes to the snowpack in the Sierra, things are looking fine and dandy. California really really needs all the water it can get right now, and we’re so happy that Mother Nature is hearing the call! It’s still true that reservoirs are low from just average precipitation and very dry ground (which soaks up a lot of water before it runs into rivers and then into reservoirs) over the last few years. HOWEVER, these last few storm cycles have really helped out. As of now, we’re looking at about 80% in the Sierra, which is good news both for California rafting this year and the state in general. If we continue to have big storms that number will go up, and if the weather dries out, we’ll probably stay in that range.
For now, we continue to predict solid water on dam-controlled rivers like the South and Middle Forks of the American River and the Tuolumne. We’re also very confident about a strong class V season on Cherry Creek.
We’ll keep you posted as the winter progresses and we know more about what kind of flows we can expect in 2009.