California's Sierra Nevada mountain region has recorded a record-breaking amount of snow - almost 17 feet - so far this month after experiencing months of extreme drought that triggered water shortages and stoked wildfires.
Scientists at the University of California - Berkeley's Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, at Donner Pass east of Sacramento, recorded 202 inches of snow, or just over 16 feet and nine inches, on Tuesday.
The heavy snowfall has seen this month become the snowiest December on record for the location and the third snowiest month since experts began keeping records in 1970.
The snowiest month for the area was January 2017 when 238 inches (nearly 20 feet) fell, and although more snow is expected to fall through the New Year, it's not likely to to challenge that record.
Sierra Nevada recorded a record breaking 202 inches or nearly 17 feet of snow on Tuesday morning
California has been experiencing a increased wave of extreme weather from historic wildfires to dangerous snowfall (Pictured: The highways in Northern California pictured at Highway 88 on September 3 before the snow and on State Route 89 on December 28 after the historic snowfall)
The heavy snowfall pushed this month to become the snowiest December in the area's history
Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley's Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, at Donner Pass east of Sacramento took 40 minutes to travel 50 yards in the packed snow
Monday broke the record for the most snowfall recorded in December when officials at the UC Berkley lab saw 193.7 inches of snow which beat out December 1970 when 179 inches of snow fell.
This month's snowfall even beats 185-inch snowfall that fell near Donner Pass in December 1889, according to according to weather historian Christopher Burt.
Members of the lab had such difficulty getting through the pile of snow. They said it took 40 minutes to get to the proper measurement spot 50 yards away.
This record breaking snow comes after months of record breaking extreme droughts and raging wildfires that ravaged California.
The Golden State experienced the most intense drought in the state's 126-year record, with this July being the driest month since the state began recording this data in 1895.
California was also hit with dangerous fuming wildfires which burned all throughout the Sierra Nevada region for the first time ever.
Multiple towns were destroyed, families were evacuated from their homes on several occasions, and several people were killed as several fires burned through the area.
The increased snowfall and moisture the state has experienced this month finally helped to end the wildfire season.
'The cooler the temperatures and the more precipitation there is, the higher the fuel moistures will get,' Nick Nauslar, predictive services
