Driest January-March in over 100 years in Sierra leads to local snow measurement of 4% of average

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The monthly measurement of snow at Phillips Station Friday was dismal, a sign of a "very bad water situation" for the state of California. They found a snow depth of just 2.5 inches, with a snow-water equivalent of just a single inch. The latter amount is just four percent of the historic average for the spot west of Lake Tahoe on April 1.

As a state, the current snowpack is 38 percent of average, far below the 154 percent statewide on January 1, 2022.

The monthly winter snow measurement is conducted by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and its Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit Manager Sean de Guzman. He was joined at Phillips Station Friday by California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot and DWR Director Karla Nemeth. Snow has been measured at this location since 1941.

“This past January, February, and March have been actually the driest period on record in the Sierra Nevada, in over 100 years,” said de Guzman. “During that period, California has only received about half the amount of rainfall recorded in comparison to 2013, which ended up turning into the driest calendar year on record.”

The snowpack guides DWR with water allocations for the year and is a sign of runoff into reservoirs to be stored for the whole state of California.

One good thing about the runoff in 2022 is the fact that the land is well saturated, thanks to the record rain in October. There is less snow to melt than last year at this time, but watersheds look to be in better condition so it runs off and doesn't soak in, said de Guzman. Even though October was record rain and December had record snowfall, they were separated by a dry November.

The current snow pack is the same as it was in 2015, an extremely dry year, and this is the third consecutive year of drought.

"This is more than a wake-up call, the alarm has already gone off," said Crowfoot. "In the last seven years, five have been drought conditions. Climate change is here, it is changing our state, our region. It affects water supply."

The results are dry forests and thirsty soil, he said.

"We are not bystanders to the climate crisis, we are protagonists, the actions we take affect our future, our kids and grandkids," added Crowfoot.

Nemeth called on all Californians to use water wisely and conserve it as much as possible. Outdoor use of water is 50 percent of the state's water, with leaks the second biggest water waster in the state.

"Make conservation a way of life," said Crowfoot.

The snow water equivalent measured at the snow survey shows the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast, including anticipated runoff into the state’s reservoirs.

April 1 is typically when the snowpack is at its highest, however, the statewide snowpack likely peaked in early March this year and the Northern Sierra snowpack peaked in mid-January.