
South Lake Tahoe In Drought Conditions | Photo Credit: Sanjoy Ghosh via Flickr Creative Commons
Earlier this year, we reported on how California is experiencing its worst drought in recorded history. California Governor, Jerry Brown even mandated Californian reduce their water use by 25%, a move that could become standard in a future climate change landscape.
Related: Tahoe Already Surpassed Last Year’s Peak Snowpack
However, this winter is shaping up to be quite different from the last three years. Already, the Tahoe Basin’s snowpack has surpassed its peak point from last year and with storms in the forecast, the snow is only getting deeper in the Sierra.
That’s good news for the drought.
NOAA even released a graphic showing parts of California as likely to recover from the current drought. However, across the majority of the Golden State, “drought remains but improves.” The only places in the West that continue to have persisting drought conditions are parts of Idaho, western Montana, and eastern Washington state.

Photo Credit: NOAA
“Good news! #Drought improvement forecast in CA, OR & Great Basin through March”- NWS Twitter
Meanwhile, Tahoe has a snowpack at 115% of its normal and that’s good news for Tahoe ski bums and Californians alike.

Photo Credit: USDA