Atmospheric river boosted California's snowpack, especially in Central and Southern Sierra. Now the levels are record level creating safety issues such as roofs collapsing and helping with drought conditions across the western states.

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.

Following a year of both extreme heat and drought, Lake Tahoe has seen a record breaking amount of snow this December.

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