California Snowpack is Above Average for Second Straight Year

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted its April survey last week, and reports show that the snowpack is at above-average levels for the second straight year.

The DWR conducts four snowpack surveys per winter doing manual surveys as well as electronic readings from 130 stations around the state.

The April survey is one of the most important because it shows the peak snowpack of the state which is crucial information for water masters, reservoirs, and businesses as we transition into spring and summer.

The key figure to take away from the April survey is the water content of the snowpack. The manual survey was conducted at Phillips Station off Highway 50, just south of Lake Tahoe near Sierra at Tahoe.

The reports show a snowpack of 64 inches and a snow water equivalent of 27.5 inches. These figures represent 113% of the average for this area.

The other electronic readings show the snowpack across the state is at 110% of snow water equivalent for April averages. This is up from just 28% from the January readings.

The mountains across the state benefited greatly from the heavy dumps we’ve seen in February and March. The challenge now is effectively capturing the runoff during the spring.

“Variable climate conditions could result in less water runoff into our reservoirs. 100 percent snowpack does not mean 100 percent runoff. Capturing and storing what we can in wetter years for drier times remains a key priority,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth.

While it’s encouraging to see the snowpack levels go above average, California is still in the midst of an almost two decade long drought. There have been three record-setting multi-year droughts in the last 15 years according to Dr. Michael Anderson, state climatologist for DWR.

The DWR provides water to 27 million Californias, and the Sierra Nevada snowpack supplies about 30% of California’s water, according to the DWR.

“California has had two years of relatively positive water conditions, but that is no reason to let our guard down now,” says Dr. Anderson, The wild swings from dry to wet that make up today’s water years make it important to maintain conservation while managing the runoff we do receive. Our water years moving forward will see more extreme dry times interrupted by very wet periods like we saw this winter.”