Note: Since this story was first published, I've added comments from Park Williams, lead author of the new megadrought study, as well as additional graphics.
Snow, followed by massive drifts of hope.
That was the essence of December's weather story in California. (With apologies to H. Allen Smith, whose 1930 weather forecast began with, "Snow, followed by small boys on sleds.")
The month began grimly, with 80 percent of California suffering from extreme drought or worse. On December 1, the statewide snowpack — a source of drinking water for 23 million people — stood at just 18 percent of normal. But then atmospheric rivers drove a fleet of Pacific storms ashore. Laden with moisture, they unloaded so much precipitation that the snowpack swelled to 160 percent of normal by Dec. 30.
