A series of late December storms has delivered a welcome boost to California’s snowpack and water supply, reversing an early-season dry trend and improving conditions for water managers statewide, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

A snowshoe-clad team of water resource engineers conducted the season’s first snow survey at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday, walking on ground that was open dirt just a week and a half ago. Early December was marked by above-average temperatures and limited storm activity, leaving California’s snowpack well below normal.

Continue reading for FREE

This is NOT a paywall. We just want to make sure you’re a human. Sign in to read this story and receive the weekly roundup in your inbox.

Or

Terms & Conditions

Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in.
Please visit My Account to manage your account.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.