Water content of California's snowpack is well below normal, but a new round of storms approaches

By The Associated Press

The water content of California’s mountain snowpack was just over half of the normal average on Tuesday, a modest increase from Jan. 1 but still far below the usual, state officials said.

Electronic measurements statewide showed a snow water equivalent of 8.4 inches (21.3 centimeters), or 52% of average to date, the California Department of Water Resources said in a statement.

“This year’s El Niño has delivered below average precipitation and an even smaller snowpack,” department Director Karla Nemeth said. “Californians must prepare for all possible conditions during the remaining months of the rainy season.”

The results are markedly different from last winter, when a blitz of atmospheric rivers buried mountains in snow, swelled rivers and filled reservoirs that had dwindled during years of drought.

At Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada, state water officials conducted this season's second snow survey using manual measuring devices. They found a snow depth of 29 inches (73.6 cm) and a snow water content of 10 inches (25.4 cm), or 58% of average to date.

“This time last year, the (statewide) snowpack was at 214% of average,” Sean de Guzman, manager of the California Department of Water Resources' flood operations section, told an online press conference. He said there was 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow at Phillips Station this time last year.

The Sierra snowpack typically supplies about 30% of California's water.

Amid the concerning snowpack data, officials said storage in the state's reservoirs remains above average.

The first in a series of storms was expected to widely impact Northern California on Wednesday and spread south on Thursday. More rain was likely early next week, according to forecasts.