First Fall Snowstorm Sweeps Sierra Nevada

SAN FRANCISCO — The first big storm of the fall swept across drought-plagued Northern California on Thursday and was expected to drop as much as a foot of snow in many parts of the Sierra Nevada.

“It’s dumping right here in Tahoe City,” said Patti DeRyke, manager of the Bridgetender restaurant on Lake Tahoe’s north shore. “We’re really excited. We’re hoping this foretells a great winter.”

The storm was a welcome sign to state and federal water officials, who are concerned about the possibility of a seventh consecutive year of drought.

California’s last official water year ended Sept. 30 as the ninth driest of the century. Although storms buffeted the California coast last winter, they too often bypassed the Sacramento Basin and Sierra Nevada watersheds that are crucial in feeding the state’s system of reservoirs.

By the end of September, California had recorded less than half its normal water runoff. Furthermore, key state and federal reservoirs held the lowest total water supply in 15 years, dating to the severe drought year of 1977.

From San Francisco to the Sierra, the Thursday storm brought more than an inch of rain in some areas. Along with a second storm expected to hit today, forecasters hoped that it would bring October up to normal rainfall for the month.

Ski area officials happily reported their first snow of the year and one resort, Boreal Ski Area, announced that it would begin operating on Halloween, its traditional opening day.

Dee Davis, spokesman for the state Drought Information Center, said much of the rain from the latest storm will soak into parched soil, a necessary first step before there can be substantial runoff to fill the reservoirs. “It will definitely be a help because the soil is so dry,” he said.

Lynnette Wirth, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Reclamation, said the storm is typical for this time of year and does not signal an end to the drought.

“We need a whole bunch more like this,” she said. “It’s the normal precipitation we would expect to have in October. We’ve gotten a lot of calls. It always happens when it rains. The drought’s not over.”