Too hot California causing El Nino to chill out

Chico creek flows through campus outside of Butte Hall.

Chico creek flows through campus outside of Butte Hall.

Even though El Nino has created record breaking numbers in rainfall and snow pack, it is still not enough to make up for the past dry winters.

El Nino has provided a 105 percent snow pack level with the Northern Sierra area registering a 114 percent average for the past rain year.

This has allowed an eight foot water increase in Lake Oroville, but more rain is needed.

“At this point, El Ñino really has not helped a whole lot,” said Jana Frazier, a tour guide for the Department of Water Resources at Lake Oroville. “The snow melt from the Sierra Nevada mountains will keep the lake stable through the summer. So far, the snow inflow hasn’t made a big dent, and we are hoping it will become higher in the future”.

There are always some dry patches during the rainy season, but February is a crucial, wet month and if California does not see more rain, the levels of water and snow pack will continue to diminish.

Kayla Fitzgerald can be reached at [email protected] or @kaylafitz_20 on Twitter.