From Friday’s Inyo Register:
Snowpack is packed
Despite warmer weather, snow totals should be higher than average
March needs to live up to its reputation and deliver some roaring storms to keep the lion’s share of a sky high snowpack in place. But even if March comes in and goes out like a lamb, and a dry one at that, and the Owens Valley snowpack baaacks up even more by April 1, the target date used to predict the spring runoff, water watchers are still predicting a snow year that will come in about 60 percent higher than average.
After hitting the same level as the record-setting snow year of 1982-83 at the start of February, and reaching about 215 percent of its long-term average, the snowpack in the Eastern Sierra couldn’t maintain that record pace. But even the 27 percentage-point sag in the snowpack recorded by March 1 still leaves the white stuff at 188 percent of the year-to-date average, which appears to be plenty of snow, regardless of any March meltdown, to keep the snowpack on pace to outpace the region’s average winter snow load.
Booger