California’s first snow survey of the year Thursday turned up average snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada, but state officials aren’t celebrating just yet.
The Department of Water Resources’ first manual snow survey of the season showed snowpack off Highway 50 in Lake Tahoe at 91 percent of average. Statewide, the snowpack is 108 percent of average for this date.
Water managers said while they’re “feeling OK” about snow levels currently, they’ll need to see a progression of monthly storms, like the state saw in November and December, in order to see average or above levels on April 1, when officials make the measurements that they will use in their water forecasting for the rest of the year. A strengthening La Niña weather pattern is making continued dry conditions in the south seem likely.
“Recent water years have shown how quickly conditions can change,” said Andy Reising, manager of snow surveys at DWR, who announced Thursday’s results. “With the potential to become a La Niña here shortly, that could indicate a continuation of that trend of drier south.”
