As temps warm and California's snowpack melts, officials brace for possible flooding
Data shows the Southern Sierra snowpack is at more than 300% of its April 1 average.
As temperatures warm up and California's historic snowpack starts to melt, concerns have been raised about where all that water will eventually go.
Once all the water is released from the snowpack, officials anticipate potential flood impacts in the San Joaquin Valley and Tulare Lake, which has water for the first time in roughly four decades.
The California Department of Water Resources held a meeting on Tuesday with weather experts and federal flood authorities to discuss the snowmelt runoff forecast for the spring.
Data shows the Southern Sierra snowpack is at more than 300% of its April 1 average, pushing the CDWR to pivot its snowmelt concern not just for now, but also for the rest of the year.
"We do expect that the exceptional snowpack and the historic snowpack levels in the Southern Sierra will lead to consistent high flows, as I mentioned, and we'll just continue to keep an eye on this," said Jeremy Arrich with CDWR's flood management team. "You might see these river stages fluctuate from monitor to flood stage."
Snowmelt is dependent on the elevation of the watershed and the amount of snow, or snowmelt that is stored on the mountain.
"April 1 is typically the peak of the snowpack and after that, we expect melt," said David Rizzardo, the manager for CDWR's hydrology section. "These are the numbers that kind of demonstrate that. As you move further south, you'll see more of those numbers are in May and then even some of the watersheds are in June."
Right now, there are no active snowmelt advisories throughout California but those could be put in place quickly if the snowmelt starts to overwhelm rivers and runoffs.
"It's just a constant coordination and collaborative effort to try to manage the water as best as possible to minimize those impacts to help improve public safety and minimize flooding," said Arrich.
CA snowpack one of the largest ever, bringing drought relief and flooding concerns, DWR says
