677 inches of snow: California breaks a 40-year snowfall record as more of the state eclipses the 50-feet mark
Ramon Padilla677 inches of snow has fallen at the Central Snow Laboratory, a University of California, Berkeley field research station located at Donner Pass in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. The latest total recorded Monday, surpassed a nearly 40-year record held back in 1983.
This season has been extraordinary in almost every way imaginable when it comes to snow said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and manager at the snow lab.
"While it's not impossible for us to break the 1952/1953 record, the Snow Lab only averages 48 inches of snowfall between March 20th and the end of the season and that would put us 7 feet short.
However, Schwartz added, "It doesn't look like the storm window is closing and, as long as it stays open, there's a chance for us to beat 1952/1953."
Here's how this water year – counted Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 – stacks up against history:
A larger area of California has passed the 50-feet mark for snowfall
Since late February, areas with snowfall surpassing 50 feet in California has expanded, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Here is how the accumulation of snowfall from Oct.1, 2022, through March 14 compares with two weeks earlier on March 1st:
"We have seen a four-fold increase in total area of snowfall greater than 50 feet in recent weeks," said Shawn Carter, a physical scientist at the National Water Center.
That's led to more snow at lower elevations.
"On March 1, most of the areas that accumulated 50 feet or more were located above 10,000 feet," Carter said. "Now we are seeing some areas as low as 8,800 feet."
Mammoth Lakes area breaks snowfall record
The weather station in Lee Vining California near Mammoth Lakes has recorded 210 inches of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service. That shatters the previous record of 125 inches for this time of the water year.
Images captured March 12 in Mammoth Lakes show a person dwarfed by massive piles of fresh snow as they are shoveling what appears to be a driveway.