Better Late Than Never: Heavy Snowfall Brings Winter Conditions Back to Northern California
It’s been a winter of extremes in Northern California. From October through December, the Sierra saw the most snow during that period of time ever, including the snowiest December in history. From January through March, the region saw the least precipitation during that period of time ever, with California recording an average of just 1.75 inches.
Now, after many residents and businesses began mentally moving towards the spring, winter came back with a vengeance with its second storm of the week, dropping over a foot of snow in some high elevation areas.
The Sierra was heavily impacted by the snowfall this week, with chain controls, road closures and powder ski days making their glorious return to the mountains. Snow accumulations have yet to be reported, but the numbers are expected to over a foot of new snow in Tahoe and the Eastern Sierra, and even more in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Tahoe and Mammoth ski resorts celebrated more than a foot of snow for the week, providing enthusiastic skiers with a rare mid-April powder day. Although many resorts have already closed, and everyone else has announced upcoming closures, the new snow might push the ski season a little further than expected.
After nearly finishing snow removal operations on roadways in both Yosemite and Lassen national parks, the snowfall brought winter conditions back to the popular parks and likely pushed their summer openings back to later this spring. Lassen looked especially covered on Thursday, with park officials posting this beautiful image of the south entrance:
Mount Shasta also received some snow on higher elevations on Wednesday and Thursday. Photos of Bunny Flat show approximately 10 inches of new snow on the mountain, but the warmer conditions kept the snowfall at higher elevations.
The storm will likely be just a small drop in the bucket when it comes to the impending drought throughout the west coast, but we’ll take anything we can! Enjoy your winter day in NorCal!
