As the state gets drier, and wildfires climb to higher elevations, snow is melting faster and earlier than before — even in the middle of winter.
For decades, Californians have depended on the reliable appearance of spring and summer snowmelt to provide nearly a third of the state’s supply of water. But as the state gets drier, and as wildfires climb to ever-higher elevations, that precious snow is melting faster and earlier than in years past — even in the middle of winter.
There are several systems at work to create this unwanted effect, including climate change, forest management practices and worsening drought and wildfires. In 2020 and 2021, the state saw a nearly tenfold increase in wildfire activity in snowy places compared with the years 2001-19, according to the study.
In fact, the study found that the reflectivity of snow — also known as albedo — declined as much as 71% when it fell onto burned areas, leading to fewer snow-covered days. The enhanced snowmelt was so pronounced within the Caldor fire burn scar that researchers recorded 50 fewer days with snow cover that winter, the lowest number of snow cover days on record in the area.
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