In article , DaveB wrote:

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 09:55:57 -0700, mariposas rand mair fheal
greykitten tomys des anges wrote:

snip


the sierra nevada snow pack is melting early
the california reservoir was designed to hold a steady flow into summer
instead of it all coming down in spring floods


A few quotes form various sources, amazing we were still skiing in
California until late May early June one of the longest seasons on
record.

great way to obscure the issue
are you intentionally ignorant or does it come naturally?

the issue isnt the size of the snowpack
but how long it stays as snow

the system was designed with snow that keeps melting into august
rather than flooding it all during the spring thaw
so that reservoirs only had to manage the spring floods
and not hold all of them into the summer

Must have stayed colder longer, just a guess

a bad guess
the snow doesnt come from the mountains
it comes from the pacific ocean
how much comes depends on how warm the ocean gets
and which way the wind blows

it falls as snow because 5000 to 10000 feet is cold in the winter
even when lower elevations are warm

hence things summer snowcapped mountains on the equator
in south america and africa

for whitewater rafters the only numbers that matter are the snowpack

what matters to farmers and city dwellers
is how much water is available in august september and october

once all the snow melts
it depends on what was captured earlier in reservoirs


we get the same thing here on a smaller scale
every winter has some snow on mt hamilton but rarely on the valley floor

and while an el nino can refill the scvwcd reservoirs
and percolation ponfs after a drought
once theyre full all the rest of the rainwater flows into the bay unused

arf meow arf - dogs and cats living together

if you meet buddha on the usenet
killfile him