California’s snowpack may melt rapidly this week as temperatures soar

A heat wave descending on the western United States this week is set to dramatically ramp up the melting of California’s historic snowpack. The rapid melt could send waters rushing into streams and exacerbate ongoing flooding in the San Joaquin Valley west of the Southern Sierra.

“This upcoming week is looking prime for accelerating snowmelt Sierra Nevada-wide with continued warming — especially warm, above freezing nights — and plenty of sunshine,” Benjamin Hatchett, an assistant professor of atmospheric science at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev., said in an email. “This will elevate stream flows on both sides of the Sierra Nevada with flooding likely.”