Western drought continues: Washoe Lake, before and after
Submitted | Submitted
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — This submitted illustration shows two photos of Washoe Lake, located north of Lake Tahoe.
The top photo was taken from the gazebo overlooking Washoe Lake in September 2011, not long after the region enjoyed a massive winter that dumped more than 800 inches of snow at high-elevation areas at Lake Tahoe.
The bottom photo was taken Sunday, as the region endures its fourth-consecutive mild winter and one of the driest Januarys ever.
When full, Washoe Lake is four miles long and two miles wide, pretty much filling the valley between Reno and Carson City.
The news isn’t much better at Lake Tahoe, where the lake’s water level dipped below its natural 6,223-foot rim last fall and was at 6,222.43 feet Tuesday.
The record low for Lake Tahoe occurred in 1992, when the water dropped to 6,220.2 feet above sea level.
According to the California Department of Water Resources, the snow water equivalent on Monday, calculated with more than 100 sensors in the Sierra Nevada, was 4.3 inches, or 27 percent of normal for that date.
Further information on the region’s snowpack will be available after DWR’s second manual snow survey this Thursday.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.
