“There are a lot of wild fluctuations in the jet streams. “These cold snaps in February are not necessarily unusual,” said Bill Patzert, a retired climatologist in the Los Angeles area. Those who rely on natural gas to heat their homes have faced sticker shock, with many trying to balance staying warm enough with staving off shockingly high bills. In February in previous years, conditions had already begun to deteriorate as temperatures warmed and deep winter turned into early spring, Kanton said.Įven residents who haven’t been on skis have been performing a balancing act this month. He said the snow at the resort had “held up like a champ.” “Even when we’re not getting snow, the cold has helped us hold on to it,” said Big Bear Mountain Resort spokesman Justin Kanton, calling the run conditions “phenomenal” this week. The current conditions are welcomed by skiers and snowboarders, who have been hitting the slopes across the state. “Rivers can be deceivingly fast flowing,” especially when a strong snowpack begins to melt. “People are going to have to be really, really careful if they’re going out to rivers this spring,” Aylward said. This chilly winter, if it persists, could create concerns for water recreation when warmer temperatures arrive, Aylward said. He warned the storm “could well be disruptive,” especially at those elevations where residents are not used to seeing snow. Most Californians, though, probably won’t see snow at sea-level elevations, said Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, but he predicted there could be “ unusually low-elevation” snow at the 1,000- to 1,500-foot level. In Northern California, Aylward said, the storm could easily bring snow “down to the valley floors again” by midweek. “That by itself could bring us back up to normal for the month, just with one storm,” Wofford said. But the upcoming storm could bring an inch or two of rain by the end of next week, he said. “We do see some rain on the horizon,” Wofford said.įebruary is tracking below average for monthly rainfall in Southern California, he said - though the region is still above average for yearly totals. Starting next week, forecasts show a new system will bring more precipitation to the state, which should further reinforce the Sierra’s snowpack - and keep temperatures chilly.Ĭalifornia California’s snowpack is melting faster than ever before, leaving less available waterĪs the state gets drier, and wildfires climb to higher elevations, snow is melting faster and earlier than before - even in the middle of winter.
The state’s snowpack models show the mountain range’s water buildup - crucial for providing water to Southern California through the summer and fall - has fallen from its peak in mid-January but not drastically. “Snowpack in the Sierra is running 200% of normal - it’s twice what it normally is,” Wofford said. Instead of picking up moisture from the Gulf of Alaska or northern Pacific, the latest cold fronts mostly moved down from Canada, bringing “near-Arctic” air without precipitation, weather experts said.īut even without rainfall or much snow for most of February, the snowpack remains at high levels, said Mike Wofford, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. The following day, the Grapevine in Los Angeles County was also was closed briefly for snow - though that interstate sits at a much higher elevation.īut for the rest of the state, February has remained relatively dry - especially in contrast with January.
199 in Del Norte County and Route 299 in Humboldt, shut down briefly after issues on the roadways due to the snow early Tuesday. “It quickly became very treacherous,” Aylward said.
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