[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Item for 2/03/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

February 03, 2009

 

Top Item –

 

 

At least a foot of snow forecast for Sierra

Sacramento Bee – 2/3/09

By Bill Lindelof

Finally the storm that Northern California has been hoping for is headed for the region.

 

Beginning Wednesday night rain is expected in the Sacramento area and snow in the Sierra Nevada. The wet conditions are expected to last until Monday.

The National Weather service predicts at least a foot of snow for the Sierra Nevada. At long last, the high pressure system that has blocked storms is being shoved out of the way.

 

"A trough will push the high pressure away from us and create enough instability to produce rain and snow," said NWS meteorologist Felix Garcia. "The trough is basically a low pressure system that originates because of a clash of the air masses."

 

A moist air mass from the Pacific Ocean and a lot cooler air mass from the Arctic region are colliding and will spiral in a counter-clockwise direction. That is how the low pressure system originates, Garcia said.

 

"We are not clear how much rain we will get in Sacramento but we are happy," said Garcia.

 

January, normally one of the wettest months, was one of the driest ever. Sacramento got just 1.5 inches of rain, compared to the historical average of 4.2 inches.

In the Sierra, surveys conducted last week showed that the snowpack was 61 percent of average.

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1594901.html

 

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