Faculty Mentor
Dr. Richard Orndorff
Document Type
Poster
Department
Geosciences
Abstract
Mountain snowpack is one of the most important factors in supplying water for all of California, especially during the dry fall and summer seasons. Snowpack is a vital source of water and has significant positive or negative impacts on water availability given the amount of snow in a particular winter. Over the past decade, drought related to lessened mountain snowpack in California has caused increased water restrictions and unfavorable conditions for residents of the state. However, the 2023 snowpack reached record levels due to atmospheric rivers bringing heavy snowfall to California from the Pacific Ocean, leading to a forecast of significant drought reduction for the state in the coming summer. We discuss current conditions as well as the overall importance of snowpack to water resource availability in the entire state.
Recommended Citation
Ives, Keagan and Price, Matt, "The Importance of Snowpack as a Water Source for California" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 13.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/works_2023/works_2023/13
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The Importance of Snowpack as a Water Source for California
Mountain snowpack is one of the most important factors in supplying water for all of California, especially during the dry fall and summer seasons. Snowpack is a vital source of water and has significant positive or negative impacts on water availability given the amount of snow in a particular winter. Over the past decade, drought related to lessened mountain snowpack in California has caused increased water restrictions and unfavorable conditions for residents of the state. However, the 2023 snowpack reached record levels due to atmospheric rivers bringing heavy snowfall to California from the Pacific Ocean, leading to a forecast of significant drought reduction for the state in the coming summer. We discuss current conditions as well as the overall importance of snowpack to water resource availability in the entire state.
