Snowpack that supplies Modesto area doubled in one day. Where do we stand on drought?
The snowpack about doubled in one day in the watersheds supplying the Modesto area.
The readings remain below average, but they were good enough to prompt a Thursday, Dec. 16, opening for the Dodge Ridge ski area near Pinecrest.
More rain and snow are forecast through Thursday, followed by a dry weekend. Drivers should watch out on streets that might still be flooded in places.
The snow in the central Sierra Nevada was 77% of average as of Tuesday, up from, 38% on Monday, the California Department of Water Resources reported.
The rain and snow came early in a storm season that typically runs through March. They need to be above average at the end to make up for the 47% of average runoff last year and the 62% the year before.
The National Weather Service forecast 0.25 to 0.5 inches of rain in Modesto on Wednesday and Thursday. Sonora, in the foothills of the local watersheds, could get 1 to 2 inches.
An additional 12 to 18 inches of snow could fall at Sonora Pass, the crest of Highway 108, where several feet fell earlier this week.
Tuesday’s rain totaled 0.4 inches as of 2 p.m. at the downtown office of the Modesto Irrigation District, following 1.32 inches Monday. The season total so far is 6.03 inches, already halfway to the annual average of 12.14 inches.
MID and the Turlock Irrigation District rely mostly on snowmelt for their Tuolumne River supply. The Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts tap the Stanislaus River.
All four districts have delivered close to normal water the past two years thanks to senior rights and ample reservoir storage. Some parts of the Valley got zero water last year from the federal Central Valley Project.
Storage was 75% of average for the date at Don Pedro Reservoir, owned by MID and TID, the state agency reported Monday. New Melones Reservoir on the Stanislaus was at 67%. San Luis Reservoir, key to West Side supplies, was at 42%.
Dodge Ridge had been watching the forecast before announcing Tuesday that it would open to skiers and snowboarders Thursday.
“By all measures,” a Facebook post said, “we’re going to be opening the 2021/22 season to incredible powder day conditions this Thursday, Dec. 16, followed by mostly sunny bluebird skies for Friday through Sunday.”
More information is at www.dodgeridge.com.
