Dismal snowpack melting away fast with all the sun
By Kathryn Reed
PHILLIPS STATION – While there was snow to survey, there wasn’t much. The water content measured near Sierra-at-Tahoe on Wednesday came in at 19 percent of normal.
Statewide, the snowpack water content for Feb. 1 is 37 percent of normal.
The water content as measured by the Department of Water Resources was 3.8 inches near Echo Summit. This compares to 24.8 inches a year ago.
Frank Gehrke with the Department of Water Resources talks water content Feb. 1 near Echo Summit. Photo/Kathryn Reed
It was deceiving to have Frank Gehrke take the samples along a 500-foot open area just off Highway 50 while snow was coming down because it gave the perception winter is alive and well in the Sierra.
That just isn’t the truth.
South Lake Tahoe recorded 3.88 inches of precipitation for all of January, according to the National Weather Service. Weather gurus are not seeing any love on their models in terms of winter-like weather. And the blips that may produce moisture this month aren’t enough to make up for the precip deficit all of Northern California and Northern Nevada are dealing with.
While the National Weather Service said this total was not a record low, the water content comes close.
According to the Department of Water Resources, the Feb. 1 water content was the second lowest on record, with those books starting in 1946. In February 1963 at Phillips Station it was all dirt — nothing to record but zeroes.
Gehrke pointed out that besides the abysmal amount of snow (15.6 inches where he measured Feb. 1) and the low water content, the storm patterns are likely going to create a problem for reservoir managers. This is because the snow is melting faster than usual with day after day of sun.
And he said if the winter progresses with these same storm patterns, the white stuff will disappear even faster.
Reservoirs in California that supply municipalities and farmers are still holding their own after the records set in 2010-11, but if this dry pattern lasts all winter, restrictions could be put in place.
Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project’s principal storage reservoir, is at 107 percent of average for the date and Lake Shasta, the federal Central Valley Project’s largest reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, is at 99 percent of its normal storage level for the date.
Besides the lack of snow likely to affect the whole state in terms of water supply in the coming months, it is impacting the Lake Tahoe economy today.
It wasn’t until last weekend that snowmobiling operations started at Tahoe businesses. Kirkwood is the only Tahoe area resort to have its whole mountain open, but with no snow in the forecast for the next two weeks, that status could change. Ski shops are starting to have clearance sales to move merchandise. Snow removal operators may be turning to lawn service soon.
With businesses unable to operate at full throttle it means less operating cash for them, but also fewer employees. South Lake Tahoe’s unemployment rate is at 15 percent, while Douglas County’s is at 13.8 percent.
Feb. 1 DWR readings:
| Location |
Elevation |
Snow Depth |
Water Content |
% of Long Term Average |
| Alpha |
7,600 feet |
14.8 inches |
3.6 inches |
17 |
| Phillips Station |
6,800 feet |
15.6 inches |
3.8 inches |
19 |
| Lyons Creek |
6,700 feet |
21.8 inches |
5.8 inches |
30 |
| Tamarack Flat |
6,500 feet |
15.2 inches |
4.8 inches |
25 |
No snow is bad – but your socialist system makes everything worse!
If the economic foundation of South Lake Tahoe was designed with free enterprise principles you would not be in the horrific situation you are in due to a bad snow year.
Lake Tahoe’s economy is a myopic and poorly designed, centrally controlled anti-free market system that is the poster child for America’s failure. Controlled by big government and corporate crony capitalism. A
California is a disgrace to the principles America was built on.
I recommend freedom loving people spend their vacation dollars elsewhere… support the freedom states not the repressive socialist state of CA.
Crash California save America!
GBA
Pubworks, after work today I am going to program you a script so that you can press one button and post “liberals bad…very very bad.” It is going to save you a ton of time.
John, that’s dealing with the issue south Tahoe and California faces.
mature too.
So many people are sick of that type of ‘head in the sand’ approach.
Many of them have left or are preparing to leave.
From here I can laugh at California.
Low snowpack = liberals fault?
HUH!?
Pubworks, as a native Californian and 50 year resident of So. Shore I have a pretty good idea of the importance of snow to our economy. It affects how many tourists come to visit as well as down stream it affects the agriculture in the central valley and beyond. Bad snow year, bad economy. This happens statewide as well as globally. This doesn’t make California a socialist state no matter what laws they may enact. I do think Social Security, Medi-Care and Medi-Cal and all the other social programs that help our seniors, children and those less fortunate are great.
Sure California, as well as the rest of the world has taken a hit economically. It has nothing to do with the scary threat of California, lack of snow or your percieved threats of socialism.
You want to see a real “Free Market”? Go to the farmer’s market this summer. Farmers growing food on their own land and selling it to customers that shop right here in good old SLT. There is the “Grateful Bread” co. out of Sacramento, the “Tahoe Mtn. Soap” guy and more produce than you can fill in your socialist canvas bag. Stop by Kae’s booth and say Hi and meet Kim from Bonafide books, maybe get a hot sandwich or a wrap on your way out. Now that’s what I call free market! Not Exxon/Mobil paying zero in taxes along with B of A, Boeing and all the other corrupt companies in this country.
Shop locally Pubworks and hope we get some snow!
Take care, Old Long Skiis
You can distort and obfuscate my meaning but that does not change the facts.
California a once a great state of freedom and liberty is now collapsing under the weight of the progressive liberals that have led it to where it is today.
South Lake Tahoe is the poster child of how not to structure an economy. 25 years ago it was much more diversified and its current myopic reliance on tourism is killing it especially in years like this one.
You are where you are because you follow whom you follow. Surely that is a simple enough concept even for those educated in California to understand.
The rest of America needs to learn from California’s dreadful mistakes.
In my opinion for the many of us that have left the repression of California it is noble to point to your failure as evidence of what not to do.
Your arguments fix nothing – you are going down and America understands why!
South Lake and El Dorado County for that matter are the poster children of failed economies whether you like it or not.
GET use to it!
GBA
25 years ago we here in Tahoe were EXACTLY like today, an economy based on tourism! Only difference is then we had a lot more people traveling to and through this town. People were spending money like it grew on trees. Especially since they were spending money then they had leveraged on today! Had nothing to do with any political ideology, just the ideology of consumption. Another factor in our economic downturn? 46 STATES NOW HAVE SOME FORM OF LEGALIZED GAMING!
That’s tellin’ ’em Pubstir! Your ideas are, once again, 100% Me! It doesn’t matter one teeny bit what the article you’re commenting on is talking about it can all be traced back to you having to leave town ’cause of those nasty lib/commies. We surely would have a Super Snowpack if Ronnie R. were still in charge!
biggerpicture,
The way i remember it…
25 years ago SLT had a lot of live entertainment, many different venues that have been shut down now and private marketing firms that worked with the various companies that have now been consolidated. You had a more diverse and a larger private employment base.
You had private owners of the casinos and lots of touring bands and a handful of festivals. Banks were smaller and locally owned.
The people that were making the most money were in the private sector.
Government took a much smaller piece of the pie. Non profits were akin to charity work. That was the picture 25 years ago as I recall.
Now today you have government controlled agencies running the marketing and the chambers of commerce all sucking up to the tax trough and being shackled by the oppressive government.
Today the high paying jobs are the government and the non profit agencies.
The private sector is a minor shadow of it’s past.
Tell me – is that not the way it was?
PubworksTV:
You say the following above: “In my opinion for the many of us that have left the repression of California…”
Since you’ve apparently left California why do you even care anymore? It sounds like you did what you thought you needed to do which is leave a State you hate. Maybe you should focus on your own life in a different State and give the California bashing a rest.
4-mer-usmc,
because I love America and i see the cancer of liberalism destroying it. Frankly I think I have made that clear.
It is a very poor line of thinking to me that people should just turn their backs on what they see as wrong.
I can’t do that, it is not in my nature. it use to be we were all ‘American’s first’.
I wish that would come back.
4-mer-usmc,
However, As I have told K, I am staying away from posting to this news and this will be it for a while.
We all need to take a look at what we have done to the future of our country – we have spent the earnings of Americas Children and grandchildren, that to me is immoral…
It is also the very thing that has brought down many of histories successful societies. For instance – 2400 years ago Greece.
I’m not a church going guy and I don’t wear my religious beliefs on my sleeve but sometimes I wonder…
…maybe he is coming back.
Jebus is coming!
Look busy!
I don’t think you have offered much evidence to support your claim that liberalism is destroying CA/USA.
Someone made an flawed claim recently that the more liberal the state, the worse the education. When the exact opposite was true.
It’s not liberalism that’s destroying CA., it’s the policy makers that want to get elected, and elected again, so they give away as much as they can to the special interest that finance their campaigns.
IT BE OK, ALL YOU GOT DO IS BUY COUPLE Chinese SLAVES, PARK THEM IN YOUR GARAGE AT NITE, PLUG THEM INTO THE WALL TO RECHARGE.
ALL THE Jobs here at South Shore only require you show up, stand there.
THERE IS NO BUSINESS!