San Francisco and parts of California have been pounded with rain and vexed by flooding and power outages in recent days, but there’s a silver lining to the storm clouds: The state’s alpine snowpack is verging on the average levels for this winter.
The update is especially welcome news following this season’s early months, marked by less-than-average snowfall . The snowpack is now around three-quarters of average with the recent precipitation.
This winter has been accompanied by an El Niño weather pattern , characterized by warmer-than-average sea temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. This can cause warm, wet storms to be flung eastward from the Pacific Ocean across the nation.
But while El Niño is popularly associated with increased precipitation and snowfall across the United States, the reality is more nuanced. Historical data reveal that significant snowfall during El Niño years is not guaranteed, with only around half past El Niño seasons registering above-average snow accumulations.{span class=”print_trim”}