Hoping for another 'March Miracle'

A few years ago (can’t remember the year) when it was a dry winter in California and the West, heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains in March gave farmers a much-needed boost in water supplies. They called it the “March Miracle.” The U.S. Drought Monitor map currently shows increasingly dry conditions in the West and a snowpack that is well below normal. But maybe that is about to change.

The weather report from a Sacramento news station on Wednesday night, February 28, said the biggest storm of the winter was on its way. The forecast was for 60 to 80 inches of snow at the higher elevations in the Sierra Nevadas during the coming days and more next week. After a 100 percent allocation of surface water last year in Central California, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation came out last week with an early water allocation of 20 percent. A “March Miracle” would be a blessing for farmers in California and the West.

Seth Hoyt