Epic Snowpack Remains in Colorado, California's Sierra
654% above average snowpack in CO. Holy f-ck!
Even where it wasn't snowing, lingering snowpack in parts of the mountain West remained massive by early June standards.
The water content of Colorado snowpack was estimated to be 654 percent of the average for June 5, and over 51 times that of one year ago, according to the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service.
According to the National Weather Service in Boulder, only three other years since 1979 had a higher snowpack in early June in the upper Colorado and South Platte River basins.
This prompted a partial draining of Dillon Reservoir in Summit County — the primary drinking water supply for over a million residents in the Denver metro area — to guard against flooding once summer runoff accelerates.
Plow drivers typically encounter drifts up to 22 feet when they begin plowing in mid-April, with a goal of opening the road by Memorial Day weekend. The Alpine Visitor Center near the road’s highest elevation opened Thursday.
Snowpack in California’s Sierra also remains remarkable for early June.
According to NOAA’s California Nevada River Forecast Center, the water content of the Sierra snowpack ranges from two to over four times the early June average.
Squaw Valley reported a 150-inch base on its upper mountain Saturday. A SNOTEL station at Leavitt Lake in the southern Sierra estimated a 141-inch snowpack.
It is estimated 150 lakes in California’s Tahoe Basin above 7,000 feet elevation are still frozen, SFGate reported.
"I've seen it happen only a few times over the past 40 years," Don Lane, supervisory recreation forester for the U.S. Forest Service told SFGate.
According to onthesnow.com, Mammoth Mountain, Squaw Valley and Donner Ski Ranch remain open in the Sierras.
https://weather.com/en-US/storms/winter/news/2019-06-08-june-snow-rockies-colorado-sierra-snowpack
