re: Is the California drought over?

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How far does California still have to go?

Anderson researched years when other major droughts were widely considered to have ended: 1938, 1978 and 1993. In each case, the Sierra snowpack — the source of one-third of California’s water supply — was roughly 150 percent of the historic average. And precipitation levels at eight key weather stations in Northern California, located in watersheds that feed Shasta, Oroville, Folsom and other massive reservoirs, also was between 130 percent and 150 percent of normal.

His conclusion: If California receives 150 percent snowpack by this April and 150 percent of normal precipitation in the north, that should be enough to fill the biggest reservoirs and probably end the drought.

Last Friday, the Sierra Nevada snowpack was at 107 percent of the historic average, and the eight-station index was at 94 percent.

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