Snowpack measures above normal for Sierra and Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - While the snowpack isn't epic in measurement (yet), it rose above normal with this past two week's storms that brought five feet of snow to the upper elevations.

During the January 3, 2019 monthly measurement of the snow and its water content at Phillips near Sierra-at-Tahoe, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) found the snow to be at 80 percent of normal. The prior year at the same time was a dismal three percent of normal.

As of January 24, that digital measurement is 113 percent of average.

According to the National Resources Conservation Services, the dozens of snow sensor locations throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin and Carson River, Walker River, and Truckee River basins (those that supply Western Nevada with their water supply) show the current snowpack measuring at 115 - 127 percent of normal.

Their only measurement that came in below average was at Heavenly Mountain Resort which is now 97 percent of normal. The whole Lake Tahoe Basin is 121 percent of average.

Snowpack across California is 111 percent of normal for this time of year, according to according to DWR’s latest snow survey.

DWR will do their next measurement at Phillips at the beginning of February.