Sierra snowpack well above average after California storms

Back-to-back California storms blanket the Sierra Nevada in snow, more than twice the snowpack level compared to this time last year, with winter still nearly two weeks away.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports at the same time last year, the Sierra snowpack was 47 percent of average. A series of systems starting around Thanksgiving dropped several feet of fresh powder in some mountain areas.

In the southern Sierra, Mammoth Mountain has recorded nearly 6 feet since Oct. 1. The ski resort claims to have the deepest snowpack in the country right now.

The newspaper reports mountain snowpack provides about 30 percent of the yearly fresh water supply for California, which has struggled with drought in recent years.