Fall Snow, Rains Have ‘Satisfied the Drought Debt’ in Northern Sierra Nevada: Climatologist

At Heavenly Ski Resort, thousands of feet up in the northern Sierra Nevada, the heavy snowfall around Lake Tahoe forced the lodge to close its small roller coaster due to poor visibility this week.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, concerns over dry conditions were quickly dispatched when more than two feet of snow dropped around the lake in just two days.

Now, if past weather patterns are fulfilled this year, experts say, Northern California’s winter — and long-term relief from years of drought — could be just around the corner for the state’s most important watershed.

The Northern Sierra Nevada area has received more than 17 inches of precipitation through October and November, nearly 200% above average for the first two months of the water year, the state Department of Water Resources said. The southern portions of the Sierra Nevada, however, remain mired in drought and are only at 81% of average.

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