Wet Storms Making Positive Impact On California Drought

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Storms have consistently rolled through our region recently, but the question we've gotten over and over is are they really making a dent on our drought?

This is the winter Bill Proffit has been waiting for.

While the slopes are covered in white, the floor in his shop is covered with traffic from customers looking to buy or rent gear for the slopes.

"We started in 1979, so year 36 we're just completing right now," he said.

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Proffit has been running the show at Land Park Ski and Sport for a while, and you bet our drought lasting more than four years has been digging into his bottom line.

"Actually, the worse year was the year before," he said.

The resorts and Proffit are loving our winter so far, but has the snow been the right type and in the right spot to help drag us out of the drought? So far, yes; in fact, we are ahead of schedule for this time of year when it comes to snow pack.

"We have about twice as much snow water content as we did a year ago," said Doug Carlson, a Dept. of Water Resources spokesperson.

State water officials say while the sierra snowpack is about 120 percent of normal, we still have a long way to go to fill up reservoirs drained after years of abysmal winters.

"We're only about a quarter of capacity right now at Oroville for example. We need an awful lot of rain and snow to slowly melt and in the summer," he said.

While state water officials are warning people not to get too excited, Proffit says let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

"It's good for everybody; we need it and we deserve it," he said.

The snowpack has been above average in the northern Sierra, where our reservoirs are, but it is below average in the southern Sierra.