Welcome, water

It goes without saying that one storm doesn’t make up for years of drought. But in the wake of the Pineapple Express blowing into the state last week, there were some positive water numbers for which Californians should be thankful (plus, there’s more rain and snow falling this week).

Rainfall: In three days, Dec. 10-12, Chico received 4.01 inches of rain, more than 27 percent of the total—14.47 inches—received in all of 2014 up to that point.

Snowpack: Between Dec. 10 and 15, California’s snowpack jumped from 28 percent to 41 percent of normal for December.

Lake levels: Shasta Lake rose 20 feet between Dec. 11 and 14, and is up 30 feet total so far in December, while Lake Oroville rose 25 feet in four days and is up 35 feet for December.

Sources: California Dept. of Water Resources and UC Cooperative Extension, Butte County