California undergoes 'Miracle March' in recovering snowpack deficit with recent dayslong blizzard

 More than 10 feet of snow from last weekend's blizzard brought snow pack levels back to normal levels after a very slow start to the snow season. California gets 30% of its water from melting Sierra snowpack.

Ski resorts are calling the current month a "Miracle March" after a blizzard dumped up to 10 feet of snow in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, and they're not alone. The state's water managers are also celebrating.

The year started with ice water equivalent 28% below average. February started better, but still only 53% of average. Today, the percentage is 104% above normal.

Photos: Monster California blizzard leaves epic shots of cities buried under feet of snow

Why do water managers measure snow?

Snow water equivalent is the actual measure of how much water is locked in snow that can refill reservoirs and aquifers in the spring. Melting chunks of ice on the ground will purify inches of water. So, by January 1, less than 3 inches of water was covered with ice. There was 9 inches of water on February 1 and now there is more than 20 inches of water on March 5.

"Hey... you want some great news? The storm helped the whole state a lot!" UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab posted on social media. “We are also at 94% of our April 1st and should be able to get to 100%.”

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April 1 is traditionally the peak depth of the snowpack. After that, the snow usually starts to melt.

A 'normal' snowpack year should go a long way in keeping California out of drought. The Sierra snowpack alone supplies 30% of the Golden State's water, including drinking and irrigation water. At present no part of the state is in the grip of drought. About 7% of the state is still abnormally dry. A year ago, almost half the state was facing drought conditions.

"Lack of snow could ultimately impact how much runoff continues to fill our reservoirs, especially during the spring and summer months when water supplies are limited," said California State Hydro-Meteorologist Angelique Fabiani-Leone. “Demand is at its highest.”

After a dry fall, mountain snow has been off to a slow start this winter, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

"In the first survey here two months ago, we saw clumps of snow, grass sticking up, and barely any ground cover," Andy Rising, a California Department of Water Resources engineer, said at a news conference. "We've had several warm storms here and the snow-rain line was very high then. And so that means that, instead of where we would normally expect snowpack to form, we were getting rain. We didn't "We got the bottom ice we want."

And while last winter's rain and snowfall erased a three-year drought, water managers said they were grateful there was no repeat of it this season.

"Our snowpack is at an ideal pace that we would like to see. They (the storms) are dispersed enough to relieve our river systems," Fabiani-Leone said. "This is quite different from last year, where we got multiple atmospheric rivers one after the other, which ultimately led to flooding across the state."

Ridiculous photos taken after 12 feet of snow falls in California's Sierra Nevada

Miraculous March for Skiers

Back to ski resorts with this miraculous march: A very happy Patrick Lacey of Palisades Tahoe Resort joined Fox Weather Tuesday morning to talk about the boon of snow for skiers.

Lacey said, "I was skiing yesterday and it was absolutely fantastic, just so powdery, buttery. It doesn't get any better than that." "I mean, eight feet of snow in four days. I haven't seen it like this around here in a very long time."

He said there was so much snowfall at the resort that crews had to move it out with trucks to make room for parking.

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March snow extends the ski season at Palisades Tahoe to Memorial Day.

“It’s going to be absolutely incredible,” Lacey said.

According to the Tahoe Fund, the term "Miracle March" was actually coined in 1991, when snowfall increased from 17% of average to 73% over 29 days. This was repeated in 2018 when snowfall increased from 32% of average to 77%.