We Need Rain and Snow

I can't remember the last time it rained around here, but I know it's been way too long. According to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, conditions will remain dry and tempertures will be above normal in the Reno / Tahoe region for at least another month. Current conditions are exacerbated because the last two years yielded below average precipitation. The Climate Prediction Center describes what we have as a moderate drought. Over in California, the governor declared a drought disaster for most of the state in June. California counties right next door to us (Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Alpine and Mono) are even more parched than western Nevada.

Sierra Nevada lakes and reservoirs that supply the Truckee River are being drained down to maintain river flows. Even Lake Tahoe's water level is nearing the point where it will no longer empty into the Truckee, which will then shift the job of keeping water in the river to Boca Reservoir. Barring any radical departures from the forecast, we are going to be dusty till the rain and snow comes. That might not be until November.

I went hiking near Lake Tahoe last weekend and saw conditions first-hand. Eagle Falls, above Emerald Bay, was a tiny trickle where a magnificent cascade usually tumbles down to the lake. Further up the trail, alpine lakes I visited had bathtub rings from being several feet lower than during a time of normal precipitation. I'm hoping for lots of rain and snow this winter.

Source: Reno Gazette-Journal