Even before the major storm forecast for this weekend, a wet February has eased fears that California would end the rainy season with too little water. In fact, many parts of the state are now likely to wrap up with average or above-average rain and snow totals. The state’s March snow survey, taking place Thursday, will show that snowpack in California’s mountains is around 80% of average for the date, a substantial leap from the end of January when it hovered around 50%. Rainfall, meanwhile, stood at 103% of average statewide Wednesday, up from about 80% last month. While the numbers are not exceptional, they mark enough of an improvement since the start of the year — when some water managers began to talk about drought — that reservoirs are sufficiently primed with precipitation to avoid major water shortages in 2024, even if the rest of the rainy season disappoints.

Related articles: 

• New York Times: Track the latest atmospheric river to hit California 
• KCRA – Sacramento: Snowstorm threat forces California officials to conduct snow survey early
• Washington Post: Sierra bracing for extreme blizzard with 10 feet of snow, 100 mph winds
• Newsweek: California’s latest atmospheric river is badly needed
• Forbes: California facing three days of ‘extremely dangerous’ blizzard conditions in Sierra Nevada—up to 12 feet of snow
• KTLA – Los Angeles: Lake Elsinore surges to record-breaking water levels after Southern California rainstorms