EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — During the winter season, the California Department of Water Resources gathers data from a snowy meadow near Echo Summit to gauge the snowpack and estimate future water supplies for the region.
It is one manual survey among dozens of others and automated snowpack estimates.
The March 2022 survey shows 68% of the average for the month. The distinct lack of recent snow has taken most of the Sierra snowpack outside of the area below average for the season so far. Record stretches of mid-winter dry patterns have not helped.
California's snowpack is typically one-third of the water supply for the year and its beneficial melting cycle occurs in spring as water usage typically ramps up.
December was one for the record books with some Sierra snow stations reporting more than 200 inches of snow for the month and most Sierra snow sites were well over 150% of average.
As you get deeper into the season you get a true estimate of how much water you can expect as the typical snow season starts to wrap up in early April. If there are large storms in April, the department may conduct one more survey in May.
Statewide, California has many other snow reporting stations to give a better metric for snow and how much water will be available.
The most useful metric is the April 1 average and how far along the state is. As of March 1, California has received 55% of its April 1 average indicating that the state has more than half the snowpack we typically see in an entire season.
The numbers may come up a bit with some Sierra snow forecast by the end of the week.
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