A historically dry January and February set the tone for March.
Carson City barely got any precipitation. Areas with the highest amounts of snow and rain only received 0.34 inches, compared to the normal 1.24 inches in past years, according to the National Weather Service.
“The precipitation has been quite sparse (in Northern Nevada). The highest was 1.2 inches in the Mount Rose area,” said Amanda Young, meteorologist with NWS.
She added that late February and early March storms contributed very little to regional snowpacks. The Sierras have approximately 70% of their normal snowpack this time of year.
However, the Natural Resources Conservation Service will be updating those figures on Monday after a snow survey.
During a Jan. 31 snow survey, Jeff Anderson, a water supply specialist with the NRCS, noted that the 2022 winter season mirrored trends from 2011 and 2013.
Both years had a heavy December with a dry January. In 2011, storms rolled in after Valentine’s Day and helped the season end with 176 percent of the average snowpack. In 2013, the opposite happened. The region saw very little snow after Jan. 1, and only secured 71 percent of its normal snowpack.
“We pretty much followed the trajectory of 2013. In fact, we’re probably doing even worse,” Anderson told the Appeal on Friday. “The gains that we did see through late February and into early March just kept our snowpack level. … Since March 12 we’ve seen a pretty significant melt.”
He said that the Carson Basin had approximately 14.7 inches of snow water content on March 14. Based on more recent snow surveys, it’s now at approximately 11.5 inches of water content. That’s a 20 percent loss.
Anderson added that last year’s snowpack didn’t see much melt until April 11, which essentially puts the Carson Basin two weeks ahead of schedule compared to 2021.
“If that trajectory continues … it adds two weeks to our summer,” Anderson said.
In turn, that gives the ground more time to dry out, and the Carson River will likely shallow earlier.
It doesn’t bode well for fire season.
According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, Carson City is suffering from the driest year to date in 128 years.
“We’re still in a drought condition, and I can’t really say now how much it will add to our fire season. But there is a good chance we’ll have an active fire situation,” Young said.
Both Young and Anderson said they’re hopeful for April showers.
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