Northern Nevada depends upon snowpack to sustain water supplies. Snow accumulates during the winter months until the beginning of April, and the slow release of melt water during the spring and summer months fills reservoirs, recharges groundwater and sustains streamflow. As of February 20th the snowpack accumulations for the major river systems in northwest Nevada (the Truckee, Walker, and Carson Rivers) are approximately half of the average (http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/precup-graph.pl?state=CA). This means that the watersheds for these river systems would have to receive approximately 50% of the annual snowpack accumulation in the next 39 days to reach snowpack levels considered to be normal in these watersheds. If this does not happen, it will be important to prepare for a dry summer with a diminished water supply. Parts of three counties in Nevada (Washoe, Churchill and Lander) are classified as being affected by "exceptional drought." These are at the core of parts of eight additional counties that are classified as being affected by "extreme drought." These (exceptional and extreme) are the highest of five categories used to characterize drought in the United States (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NV -- see the illustration below from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Drought Monitor web site). Some areas in the state may be severely affected by water shortages, especially given the lack of snowpack last year.
Intensity:
D0 - Abnormally Dry
D1 - Moderate Drought
D2 - Severe Drought
D3 - Extreme Drought
D4 - Exceptional Drought
The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions. Local conditions may vary. See accompanying text summary for forecast statements.
No comments:
Post a Comment