It is called “Miracle March 2011” in the Sierra. At Boreal, near Donner Summit, as of a few days ago, they had received 221 inches this March bringing the seasonal snowfall to 766 inches. The previous record was 662 inches in 1994/95. The recent prolonged storm brought 6-7 feet of snow. The normal for the season is around 400 inches. Their snowbase is between 275 and 375 inches (20-30 feet).
The Snow Water Equivalent is well above normal and bodes well for both agriculture and coastal cities which rely on the melting snow for irrigation and drinking water. There have been battles for decades over how much water the farmers should get to use in the long dry growing season.
This wet season has brought over 80 inches of water equivalent to some of the higher terrain.
Here is the snowfall graph for Donner Summit Central Sierra Snowlab since 1879. It is not the same location as Boreal Ski resort at Donner Summit. But if the numbers are close, Boreal has had 63.8 feet so far, most since 1950/51 La Nina winter (like this year early in a new cold PDO phase).
