Skip to content

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023

Has the winter of 2022-23 been one of the snowiest on record so far in the Sierra Nevada range?

Todd Butterworth, The Nevada Independent
yes

According to the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, as of Jan. 16, 2023 (end of day), all but one weather station in the Sierra Nevada range recorded its highest January snowpack ever.

The winter of 1982-83 was an extreme outlier and holds the record for seasonal snowfall in the Sierras, but the winter of 2022-23 is outpacing it. As of Jan. 11, California’s snowpack was 226% of its average for that date and 102% of its April 1 average, when snowpack is typically highest.

According to The Associated Press, this snow, along with rain from California's recent storms, will help drought conditions, but "won’t be enough to fix some of California’s long-term water problems that climate change is making worse."

See a full discussion of this at The Nevada Independent

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.