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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, February 02, 2025
Snowpack conditions are among the lowest levels ever recorded at many measuring stations in the Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) Network.
Western producers in areas once dealing with devastating droughts scrambled to keep their livestock safe and fed this winter as a series of storms caused record-breaking amounts of precipitation. Now, the snowpack is beginning to melt, and there are concerns about potential flooding.
Farmers and water managers across the West are bracing for another potentially dry year, even as they wait for rain and snow that could help alleviate drought conditions. But with climate change reducing annual snowpack and the water it promises, the Bureau of Reclamation is in search of new and more accurate forecast tools.
Several democratic senators and representatives from California introduced a bill that would create an airborne snow observatory and measurement program within the Department of the Interior.
Legislators to Newsom: Stay the course on environmental regs * State Ag Board to host Newsom’s task force * Newsom directs agencies to cut spending now
With some shots of rain and snow still arriving, and reservoirs at near average levels, the state still remains far short in total rain and snow statewide as it heads toward fire season.
California's Sierra Nevada snowpack should be well over 20 inches at this point, according to USDA's Meteoroligist Brad Rippey, but it's falling behind.