Sierra Seca?

[rams]

Figured I'd ask here since a lot of members have been hiking the Sierra for a long time. I started hiking these mountains about 20 years or so ago and have never seen them with so little snow; not even 2015. Have any of you ever seen it this brown before? I looked at Mammoth's live cam and saw only one white spot on the Ritter Range (picture below). Is this unprecedented during your lifetime?

[TahoeJeff]

https://www.drought.gov/states/california

[Gogd]

Yea, dry as ever. But that is no secret, everything you read states this advent.
Ed

[cgundersen]

rams: yes, it's scary; places I've recalled having "permanent snow (ice)" no longer do. Lots of the glaciers shown on top maps no longer exist. Lakes are drying up. I think the monsoonal system this summer helped a bit, but let's see how winter unfolds. cameron

[Gogd]

https://news.utexas.edu/2018/02/26/hidd ... newsshares

This study indicates the ecology may be more capable of enduring a sustained drought than conventional wisdom would assume. Just the same, it requires the right geological formations and even then it is likely conditions may not support a long term drought if tree roots have to penetrate too deeply, or if too many trees are competing for these subterranean moisture pockets, etc. I would also conjure these crack sequestered moisture pockets benefit from rain fall, in addition to snow pack contributions. Even if these rock formations do the trick there is likely going to be fewer trees for some generations to come, if we continue to have warmer, arid trending climate.

Ed

[dave54]

Jeffrey Pine is believed to have evolved from the more common Ponderosa Pine. Jeffrey Pine is more drought hardy and adapted to frequent and lengthy droughts that historically was the norm in California.
The twentieth century was abnormally wet and consistent compared to the long term climate record. We got spoiled, are using an unusual wet period as our baseline for 'normal'.
This current drought is not the 'new normal'. It is actually the return to the real normal.

[Bishop_Bob]

I went over Snow-Tongue pass in late July, but the tongue was not there.