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17-Foot Snowfall Shatters Record For December In The Sierra Nevada

Snow Storm

Image for illustration purposes only (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

Andrew Jose Contributor
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Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada has broken records set decades ago, the University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab said Monday.

“With a 24 hour official snow total of 98.75 cm at the lab, we have smashed the previous record of 455 cm of snow in December set in 1970! ” the laboratory announced in a Monday tweet. 

Over 202 inches of snow had fallen since Dec. 1 at the University of California, Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, as of Tuesday, CNN reported. December 2021 is the month with the most snow in the location’s records, lab scientists told the outlet. (RELATED: Snowstorm Causes Road Closures And Accidents Up And Down West Coast)

Snow at the site was “deep and hard to get through,” lab officials said, according to CNN. There was so much snow that for scientists to make it to the place where measurements are recorded 150 feet away from the laboratory’s front door, it took 40 minutes, they said.
 
“While this event has been amazing so far, we are really concerned about the upcoming months not having as many storms,” said Andrew Schwartz, a lead researcher with the lab, CNN reported. “If we don’t get another inch, we’re still below what we would expect for the entire winter, which means that we can contribute to the drought rather than resolving it.”
 
Prior to the snowfall, California had witnessed months of water shortage, brought by drought, and wildfires. The Sierra Nevada snowpack plays a crucial role in California’s supply of freshwater. Snow that piles up in this region would melt as the weather gets warmer, rejuvenating rivers and reservoirs in the state and refilling groundwater stores.