SACRAMENTO, Calif —
Although it pales in comparison to last year, this March was extremely beneficial to the snowpack and secured another drought-free year for most of the state heading into the dry season.
It was an active month of weather across Northern California. The beginning and end of the month saw consistent storm systems and was separated by a week of warm, spring-like weather in the middle.
Snow piled up in the Sierra this month and the latest snow survey, conducted Tuesday, delivered great news for the state’s water supply heading into the dry season. The current depth of the snowpack at the survey site, located on Highway 50 near Sierra-at-Tahoe, sits at 64". This equates to a snow water content of 27.5" and is 113% of the April 1 average, which typically represents the snowpack peak.
“The April 1 peak is a critical measurement for water managers to predict and forecast the water supply that reaches our reservoirs,” said Andy Reising, Water Resources Engineer for DWR.
Statewide snow water content, the amount of water contained within the snowpack once melted, is at 28.6” and 110% of average. On March 1, the statewide snowpack was only at 76% of average.
The Central Sierra Snow Lab started the month with 232” of accumulated snowfall since October, but that number is now 345”.
Last year the snowpack was well over twice the average due to an unrelenting pattern of atmospheric rivers. Runoff will be about average this year and will depend on weather conditions in the spring and early summer. Reservoirs remain above average heading into the melt off period.
Although Sacramento ended the month below average in terms of precipitation, this is a bit misleading due to the storm track favoring heavy mountain snow over valley rain. Sacramento received measurable rainfall 13 out of the 31 days in March and 2.04" in total. The city has recorded 15.5" since October 1, which is right around average.
Overall, it was also a chilly month across the state. Sacramento average high temperatures were 1.6 degrees below average. The climate district covering most of Northern California ranked it as the 105th chilliest March out of 132 years in terms of average high temperature.
April will start off warm and dry before a unseasonably cold system drops into the region by Thursday, dropping high temperatures to levels 10-15 degrees below average.
