California snowpack could bring 5-year drought to its knees

(AP) — The massive snowdrifts in the Sierra Nevada could finally bring the California drought to its knees and keep skiers on the slopes long enough to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Winter snowfall on California's 400-mile mountain range provides roughly one-third of the water used in the nation's most populous state as the snow melts over the spring and summer and fills reservoirs supplying farmers and city dwellers.

The California Department of Water Resources will once again manually measure the snowpack on Wednesday, saying the state is on track for one of the wettest winters on record after five years of drought.

In the state that leads the nation in producing fruits, vegetables and nuts, some farmers drew down wells to grow their crops; others left fields unplanted.