CALIFORNIA, USA — Snow in the Sierra is a very important metric for determining water resources in the future.
The Department of Water Resources conducted the second snow survey of the season Tuesday. Many automated snow sensors create an array of data to help determine snowpack and how much water will be available during the often dry spring, summer and fall.
The Central Sierra has conducted a manual survey at Phillips Station off Highway 50 in the same meadow for many decades. The Department of Water Resources invites the media to observe the measurement and officials report what they find at least four times during the rainy season.
Last year the snow surveys reported snowpack well above average and often double compared to a normal snow year. This season the first snow survey reported snow well below average at 25%.
This year they reported 58% of average for Phillips Station and for the state, they reported 52% of average. This time last year they were at 214% of average for the February snow survey. The snow depth was seven feet. This survey has a snow depth of 29 inches.
“This year’s El Niño has delivered below average precipitation and an even smaller snowpack,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth in a statement. “Californians must prepare for all possible conditions during the remaining months of the rainy season.”
The snowpack will continue to improve in the coming weeks with multiple cold storms set to affect all of the Sierra.
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