Winter Storms Wash Away California Drought, Enlarge Snowpack

LOS ANGELES (AP) – California is drenched and its mountains are piled high with snow amid a still-unfolding winter of storms that was unimaginable just a few months ago. The U.S. Drought Monitor reports Thursday that more than 87 percent of California is free of drought conditions or unusual dryness and just over 2 percent remains in the drought category. State water resources officials say the vital Sierra Nevada snowpack is now at 153 percent of average to date. A measurement taken Thursday at Phillips Station near Sierra-at-Tahoe found 113 inches of snow depth compared to just 13{ inches a year ago. The Sierra snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California’s water when it melts in spring and summer. Forecasters expect stormy weather to continue.

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