Winter storm in western US eases drought but sparks travel misery

LOS ANGELES • A powerful winter storm battered the western United States on Monday, dumping much-needed snow on the drought-parched mountains of California, but causing travel misery over a wide area.

One metre of snow had fallen in 24 hours on parts of the Sierra Nevada range, taking December's total to a record-breaking 4.9m, and bolstering the badly depleted snowpack that feeds the region's reservoirs.

"We were definitely not expecting a wet winter," said Dr Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory at University of California, Berkeley.

"It just so happens that we ended up with a lot more snow this year than we expected, which is a pleasant surprise, of course," Dr Schwartz told Agence France-Presse.

The US west has suffered years of pitiful rainfall, leaving vast swathes of the countryside parched and vulnerable to wildfire.

It is too soon to declare the drought over, he said, but "it looks like the western United States is getting some help".

The immediate impact of the storm was less positive, with tens of thousands of people experiencing electricity blackouts and roads blocked.

Pacific Gas and Electric reported that power lines had been felled by the fierce weather, with more still to come.

In Seattle, in northern Washington state, heavy snow was causing delays and cancellations for travellers, with airport operators having to remove ice from planes, as the city suffered under plunging temperatures.

"After a year of unprecedented challenges, Seattle is facing a long duration of dangerously cold temperatures and snow," tweeted Mayor Jenny Durkan.

"We've declared an emergency to allow Seattle to marshal full resources required to protect residents, provide warm spaces and support our front-line workers."

Much of Oregon was also under a winter storm warning, with a further blanketing of snow expected overnight on Monday.

"The heaviest snowfall is expected late tonight into early Tuesday morning with 1 to 3 inches (2.5cm to 7.6cm) for the valley and coast," tweeted the weather service in Portland, Oregon's biggest city.

While the US west was labouring under heavy winter weather, Texas was sweltering in an unseasonably warm spell, with the Christmas Day mercury topping out at a toasty 34 deg C in Rio Grande Village.

Scientists say human-caused global warming is playing havoc with the climate, making storms more intense and unpredictable, and generating high temperatures in unexpected places.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE