RENO, Nev. (AP) — Officials say this winter is the eighth largest in the Truckee River Basin since 1981, largely due to a February that was full of snowfall.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports so much snow fell on the surface of Lake Tahoe last month that the waterline rose by about a foot.
Reno Chief Deputy Water Master Dave Wathen says that's 39 billion gallons of water (in the form of snow) that fell directly into the lake.
Hydrologist Jeff Anderson says it snowed 24 out of the 28 days at the Mt. Rose SNOTEL, one of nine locations around the Truckee River Basin that track snow levels.
Last month was the second-largest February on record at that site, adding 28 inches of liquid water-equivalent to the snowpack.
