From the “weather is not climate” department: All of the western states have snowpacks that are currently 110 to over 180 percent above normal with the exception of southern Colorado. This is unusual for most of the western states to be so far ahead on snowpack all at the same time rather than from one or two states.
And, according to the Squaw Valley Snow Tracker:
Squaw Valley has just reached over 700″ of total snow accumulation– something that has never happened in Squaw Valley’s recorded history.
Squaw Valley opened in 1949.
And in the context shown above, here’s a pertinent reminder of alarmism past:
“…there is no greater truth than global warming, with its threat of a shrinking snowpack…”
That is from this article in the San Francisco Chronicle in October of 2006.
(10-27-2006) 04:00 PDT Norden, Nevada County — For the ski industry, both in California and rest of the nation, there is no greater truth than global warming, with its threat of a shrinking snowpack and the point that Yogi Berra once made so succinctly: “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
…
If nothing is done to curb emissions, greenhouse gas emissions could raise Sierra temperatures another 5 or 6 degrees by the end of the 21st century, according to some projections. The snowpack could be reduced by 89 percent.
Sources:
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/water/westwide/snowpack/wy2011/snow1105.gif
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/ms.pl
h/t to reader “MM”
UPDATE: Reader Kelly Morris brings this snow water equivalent map to our attention:
“… snowpacks that are currently 110 to over 180 percent above normal…”
Doc, what is it with you weather types? There is no “normal”! It’s above (or below) AVERAGE. I know, it’s only a word. But this is exactly how the average person gets the misimpression that “something” is screwing up the weather and it’s probably us humans.
BTW, our snow pack here this morning was – – average for this time of year but the temp was WAY below average @ur momisugly 57 degrees – – just North of Tampa.
Mr Lynn ,
I would guess that the snow melt in the Rockies really hasn’t begun in earnest yet . When it does , though , it will have an impact downstream . The Missouri , Platte and Arkansas drainages appear to have enough snow pack to compouind the problems that the lower Missippi is experiencing , although it won’t be for several weeks .
Here in Utah, I have had more snow days (including yesterday and today) this “spring” than 70 degree days.
Famous IPCC statement:
.
Widespread melting of snowpack and sea ice is only partly supported by observational data. Arctic sea ice extent is the only indicator which seems to agree with the pro-AGW picture, nor Antarctic ice or Northern Hemisphere winter snow cover extent does. Most of the world’s glaciers have been retreating since the 18th century and no acceleration is visible in the recent past.
Apart from this, we should already know that global
warmingclimate disruption can lead to more snow by causing more intense and devastating blizzards…The decline in Western snowpack was blamed on global warming. Today, there are some commenters who blame the increase in snow on global warming.
http://ametsoc.org/atmospolicy/50526ESSS.html
I just checked SNOWTEL this morning and the Olympic Mountains in Washington State are at 266% above normal. Washington’s Cascade Mountains range from 158% to 206% above normal and lastly, Crystal Mountain is planning to stay open for skiing well until the snow melts – currently 150 inches at the top and 99 inches at the base….should be open at least through July!
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/west_swepctnormal_update.pdf
This could mean that the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valleys will get enough water this spring and summer that some of the farmers can resume producing food in spite of the Delta Smelt. That would be good news at the grocery store, even better if the fuel alcohol industry goes bust when the subsidies get yanked by austerity-minded politicians.
6 more inches of snow here in the Eastern Sierra this morning. I am sure that was a foot or more on the crest.
Gem Pass is still accumulating snowpack.
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/pillowplots/OwensMono.html
but Mammoth Pass looks like it has finally topped out for the season…
http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp013390.pdf
And for you skiers, Mammoth Mountain is open daily until the fourth of July!
Jim Cripwell and Layne Blanchard:
I’ve followed the levels of these lakes/reservoirs ever since the IMAX movie about the drought in 2005. The hand-wringers were saying that Lake Powell would be dry in short order.
Since then, Lake Powell has risen on the order of 65 feet. With this snowpack melting, I expect the level will be some 80-90 feet above the 2005 low. The problem in these predictions is that you never know how far they will open the gates to let water out. Follow it here: http://www.water-data.com
BTW that’s 380% of normal for Mammoth Pass.
Expect floods to be blamed on global warming. ;O)
P.S.
“Question: Is higher snowpack (east of the Continental Divide) responsible for the flooding Mississippi this year?”
While snow pack around the Great Lakes has apparently melted, as far as snow pack at the higher elevations in the MOUNTAINS east of the Continental Divide goes, not much of that has started to melt yet. I’m going skiing at Arapaho Basin on Sunday, and it seems to be holding steady at about 92-94 inches of base. Plus, the Colorado mountains are still getting quite a bit of snow up high. More due this week.
OOPS! Talk about lack of precision. (red face here.)
A-Basin is WEST of the Continental Divide, not EAST. However, it hugs the Continental Divide just like Loveland on the East side of Loveland Pass, and conditions are pretty much the same in both places. Unfortunately, I think Loveland has closed for the season.
“After “adjustment”, I am sure it will be realized that the snow level was actually 70″ and that it was the second warmest year ever.
Brilliant. Someone get out there with a snow-plow and “normalize” the drifts eastward!
Drove over the Carson Pass highway today…chain control over the summit earlier. 6 – 9 inches on all the trees above 7000 feet. Nice and cold little mid May dump. 27F at Silver Lake. 28F at Caples Lake. 27F over the Carson Spur and 28F at the Carson Pass.
Quick weather update from Ohio: Yesterday’s high temperature in Columbus (51 degrees F) broke a 96-year-old record for coldest high temperature. The day before, Columbus broke an 84-year-old record with a high of 49 degrees.
max says:
May 18, 2011 at 6:26 am
I wonder if that amount of snow can even melt before September…
Sure it can, but it hasn’t really started yet because May has been cold and snowy so far. Last week, some areas of the Denver Metro area had up to 6 inches of snow. The mountains got at least a foot from each of these storms and it’s been snowing in the mountains since yesterday with rain in the Denver area.
Once the melting starts though, it will go fast. It will be dry by the end of July, as usual.
If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny that the Watt supporters here are going on about their weather as evidence of, well, something when he started this post with a “weather is not climate” reference.
If you don’t get why that is sad then you are cheer leading not dealing with science….
“… snowpacks that are currently 110 to over 180 percent above normal…”
Do you mean : “… snowpacks that are currently 110 to over 180 percent of average…” (= “… snowpacks that are currently 10 to over 80 percent above average…”)
Milwaukee Bob got halfway there.
chris b says: “I’m wondering if “Climate Scientists” understand the difference between Climate and Weather.”
Not anywhere near as well as they understand the difference between “funded” and “not funded.”
tadchem says: “…That would be good news at the grocery store, even better if the fuel alcohol industry goes bust when the subsidies get yanked by austerity-minded politicians.”
“Austerity-minded politicians” is an oxymoron, isn’t it?
Is there some stock that we can buy, knowing that water will be plentiful in these areas out west?
Of course. An abnormal winter snowiness disproves everything about AGW. How many more abnormal events will it take before it is obvious to all that nothing is changing?
max says:
May 18, 2011 at 6:26 am
“I wonder if that amount of snow can even melt before September…”
There were a few places in Colorado I used to hike (back in the ’70s, dating myself here) where the snow did not melt out for a couple years during the summer. These were deep, heavily forested ravines above 10,000 feet on north facing slopes. There were also permanent snow fields above 12,000 feet or so. You could dig into a snow drift and mark the layer from the previous year. While many of the permanent snow fields remained in the highest places, the lower ones had mostly disappeared by the ’90s.
Those conditions back in the ’70s may well return. It’s what you call “climate change.”
We have a winter storm warning up for the east slope of the Colorado front range from Boulder to the Wyoming line right now, along with a flash flood watch at lower atltiudes.
It has been raining almost continuously at lower elevations today and the last few days. We briefly had a tornado warning for the north east area of the Denver Metro area today.
Typical peak run off is the first week or two of June here when we first get our hot clear days to start the melt.
This spring so far, reminds me a lot of the weather we had in the spring of 1965 which led up to the Platte River flood of 1965 which took out several major bridges spanning the river from Castle Rock north to Nebraska. It nearly cut the city of Denver in half and the water was 6-8 ft deep a half mile west of the river channel at Alameda Avenue. The top roadway of the I-25 / Alameda over pass was about 12 ft under water at peak flow.
Chatfield dam was built to prevent that ever happening again, but the weather is very similar, with days of nearly continuous light soaking rains to saturate the soil. If we get a stationary thunderstorm in the north east front range of Colorado in the next couple weeks in any of the major river drainage basins we will likely have flooding.
Right now the snow pack has not started significant melting, but either some clear hot days or a warm rain at altitude could make for a very wet time along some of our mountain valleys.
Larry
Sooo…..nobody’s going to mention how well-above-normal snowpacks are typical across the Western states (particularly north of Arizona and Mew Mexico) during the spring following La Nina years? And that this was a relatively strong La Nina?
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/ENSO/composites/lanina.mam.snow.gif