For decades, Californians have depended on the reliable appearance of spring and summer snowmelt to provide nearly a third of the state's supply of water. But as the state gets drier, and as wildfires climb to ever-higher elevations, that precious snow is melting faster and earlier than in years past — even in the middle of winter.

A series of spring storms has kept the snowpack — a key source of the state’s water supply — at its highest level for early June since 2011.

The snow began falling in early February and hardly let up until the last day of the month, setting records at local ski resorts and causing havoc across the