 "Photo:")
 "Photo:")
Instead of falling into packed powder, skiers and snowboarders may find themselves falling into dirt - even though it's December.
Boreal Mountain Resort outside of Truckee is just one of few resorts open this season because of the lack of snow, said senior Steve Shearer, president of the Chico Snow Club. When it's cold enough, Boreal will make snow even when there's not much natural snow.
Shearer, along with other members of the Chico Snow Club, visited the resort on Veterans Day when there was still quite a bit of snow from early November storms, he said. However, the snow stopped falling in the weeks after.
Veterans Day was somewhat of a tease, in that it gave just a small sample of what the group was hoping for, but it wasn't enough to satisfy, Shearer said.
But snow resorts are just one area affected by the unseasonably mild weather and lack of rain and snow.
Businesses that supply snowboards and other snow gear have been suffering, said Matt Craig, co-owner and manager of Boardmart on Main Street. The company has still received a lot of foot traffic, but not much for snow equipment.
When it does start snowing consistently and more resorts open, people will get excited and come into the store to start shopping, Craig said. But for now, items in the snow section aren't selling as well as Craig and co-owner Darren Deedon had hoped.
Although there have been issues with snow-related activities, other activities also have been affected by the lack of rain, such as kayaking, senior Oceanna Ingram said. The rivers and creeks are so low that it makes it difficult to go kayaking.
The lack of rain does make it easier for her to ride her bike without worrying about getting wet, she said. But she wants it to rain because she knows the area needs it.
She thinks global warming is a huge factor, not only for the California drought, but also in weather throughout the country and the world, she said. Ingram has also noticed that the past few years have had similar weather patterns.
This is because the state is in a drought cycle, said Mark Stemen, professor of geography and planning. This isn't directly related to global warming, but it could be making the situation worse.
Global warming is about getting more energy than usual in the climate system, he said.
"That means we're going to get hotter hots, colder colds, wetter wets and drier dries," he said.
While recent years have been dry, this year appears to be even more so, with the rain and snow coming later in the year, thus the drier dries, Stemen said.
If there isn't a significant amount of snow by spring, the runoff that goes into the reservoirs could be low, he said. This means there will be less water for irrigation, but also less hydropower.
"It's a double whammy for us - less water and less energy," Stemen said. "We end up using more coal-fired power, which makes climate change worse."
Katherine Jarvis can be reached at kjarvis@theorion.com
Be the first to comment on this article!