(KMJ) -Many of drought-stricken California’s long-barren mountain peaks are sporting coats of snow after the first significant statewide storm of the season.
The ski resort at Mammoth Mountain in the eastern Sierra Nevada reported the storm dropped 12-to-30 inches of snow, and moved up its opening day to Thursday, a week earlier than planned.
In the Sierra region encompassing Yosemite and Kings Canyon, the National Weather Service says snowfall totals ranged from 9 inches near Bass Lake to 13 inches northeast of Devils Postpile.
The China Peak Ski Resort also reported significant snowfall. It posted the photo above on its Twitter page as the snow fell on Monday.
A substantial Sierra snowpack is vital to California’s water supply. Last April, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory water restrictions for the first time in history as surveyors found the lowest snow level in the Sierra in 65 years of record-keeping.
