Record year for moisture? Depends on precip v. snow
By Melissa Siig, Moonshine Ink
It seemed like the snow would never stop falling this winter, and Tahoe/Truckee is just now, at the end of April, beginning to see the massive snowpack begin to melt, at least at lower elevations. Up high, that’s another story, and in January, February and March, if it wasn’t snowing, it was raining. So all this rain and snow in early 2017 begs the question — was this a record setting year?
The answer is yes and no, depending on whether you are looking at precipitation or snowpack.
In terms of precipitation, 2016-17 is shaping up to be the wettest year on record since the Federal Water Master’s Office in Reno started keeping track 118 years ago. According to U.S. District Court Water Master Chad Blanchard, while we are behind 1982-83 with regards to total precipitation, there are still five months to go in the water year (Oct. 1 to Sept. 30), and we are currently ahead of where we were in April 1983.
