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6h ago

California Snowpack Slumps to 59% After Warm, Dry January

Reservoirs remain well above normal, offering a short-term buffer despite a quiet near-term forecast.

FILE: Nearby mountain peaks are covered with snow near the Phillips Station meadow shortly before the California Department of Water Resources conducted the third media snow survey of the 2022 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
FILE: Skiers slalom through patches of dry ground at Palisades Tahoe on March 21, 2015, in Olympic Valley, Calif.
FILE: Skiers slalom through patches of dry ground at Palisades Tahoe on March 21, 2015, in Olympic Valley, Calif.
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Overview

  • DWR’s Jan. 30 manual survey measured statewide snow water equivalent at 9.7 inches, or 59% of average for the date.
  • Snowpack fell from roughly 89% of average three weeks earlier as an unusually warm, dry January eroded early-season gains.
  • Forecasters see at least another week of mostly dry weather with no strong signal for major storms in the next two weeks, and DWR warns recovery becomes harder as the season progresses.
  • Major reservoirs are about 126% of average, providing near-term cushion for water supplies despite weak midwinter accumulation.
  • Electronic readings show a north–south split in the Sierra, with about 43% of average in the Northern region, 60% in the Central, and 78% in the Southern.