Thanks to a dry January, the second official snow survey of the season found California’s snowpack at only 59% of normal, the Department of Water Resources reported Friday.
Officials said the atmospheric-river storms in December were not followed by more rain in what is historically the wettest month of the year.
“We are now two-thirds through what should be the best snow-producing months of the year. While there is still time for February and March to deliver additional snow, the farther into the season we get with below average conditions, the harder it will be to catch up,” said Andy Reising, manager of the DWR’s snow surveys and water supply forecasting unit.
The latest snowpack data was announced as officials performed the traditional monthly manual measurement at historic Phillips Station near Lake Tahoe. That came in at 46% of average.
Meanwhile electronic readings from 130 locations throughout the Sierra Nevada on Friday indicate that the statewide snowpack is at 59% and equivalent to 9.7 inches of water.
Despite the dry January, major reservoirs statewide are currently at 126% of average thanks to recent precipitation on top of three consecutive years of above-average snowpack conditions, as well efforts by California to capture and store as much water as possible.
The Sierra snowpack typically supplies about 30% of California’s water needs.
