Sierra Nevada Sets Record for 2nd Snowiest Winter

Update as of March 20, 2023: Sierra Nevada received another 7.7″ of snow this past weekend, so this winter has passed the ’82/’83 record as the 2nd snowiest season. There’s a long way to go to beat the record for the snowiest season (812 inches), but we’re not done with the snow yet.

With 7.7″ (19.5 cm) of #snow over the last day, ’22/’23 has passed ’82/’83 as the 2nd snowiest season (Oct 1 – Sept 30) since the CSSL was built in 1946! We now have a season total of 677″ (56.4 feet, 17.2 m).

Still far from #1 but we’ll get closer over the next week. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/M0thTCxZuI

— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) March 20, 2023

Thanks to KCBS Radio for sharing the news that Sierra Nevada will soon set the record for its second snowiest winter. The snowfall the mountains are experiencing have not been seen in generations.

UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, a field research station located at Donner Pass, has measured 668 inches or 55.5 feet of snow in 2023. The record for the second snowiest winter was set in 1983 when 55.91 feet of snow fell.

We still may see it surpass the record for all-time snowiest winter which saw 812 inches (67.6 feet) of snow in 1952.

We’ve had 3.7″ (9.5 cm) of #snow in the last 24 hours. That takes us to 668″ (16.97 m) of snowfall for the season (Oct 1 – current).

We are now 3″ (7 cm) away from overtaking the ’82/’83 winter as second snowiest at the lab and we should see that fall on Sunday.#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/dmQdFWrNdH

— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) March 15, 2023

Shout out to the hardcore @UCB_CSSL researchers getting 18-foot deep into their work at the Soda Springs snow pit. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/c5t4wTjHMo

— Karl Mondon (@karlmondon) March 12, 2023