Sierra Snowpack Boosted by Recent Storms But Still Far Below Average

Though late season storms have helped skiers and boarders enjoy Lake Tahoe resorts a bit longer, the snowpack measured at 38% of normal today during the monthly test at Echo Summit. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR)reported a statewide average of just 32% of average.

Surveyors from DWR trekked to several monitoring stations as they do annually to measure the water content in snow, as well as depth, to try and pinpoint the state's water supply this summer.

April 1st measurements are typically the peak of snowpack in the Sierra. In January, the totals were at their lowest with just 12% of average which was the lowest on record. The DWR reported that even if California receives sustained rain and snowfall for the rest of the season won't end the drought.

Coupled with this winter’s scant rainfall, the meager snowpack, containing only 32 percent of average water content for the date, promises a gloomy summer for California farms and many communities.

“We’re already seeing farmland fallowed and cities scrambling for water supplies,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “We can hope that conditions improve, but time is running out and conservation is the only tool we have against nature’s whim.”