California pins hopes on March to bolster snowpack
Alan Riquelmy
PHILLIPS STATION, Calif. (CN) — A month ago, heavy snow fell as California water officials performed their regular snow survey at a spot in the Sierra Nevada Mountains close to South Lake Tahoe.
On Friday, when workers with the state Department of Water Resources took their measurements, the sun shone brightly. It wasn’t the weather they’d wanted.
“Every day it’s not actively snowing or raining, we’re likely losing ground,” said Andy Reising, manager of the snow surveys and water forecasting unit at the department. “We’re quickly running out of time.”
California relies on winter storms to build its snowpack each year. Similar to a reservoir, the snowpack holds water for future use. It begins to melt as temperatures climb, and feeds the state’s streams and rivers.
Measuring the snowpack is an essential tool in guiding how the state manages its water supply. The information collected helps with supply and snowmelt runoff forecasts, letting water managers know how much water will reach reservoirs later this year.
The snowpack, on average, provides the state with about 30% of its water needs. There’s concern that this year there won’t be enough.
On Friday, officials measured 34 inches of snow depth, with a snow-water equivalent of 13.5 inches. Phillips Station sits at 6,800 feet elevation.
The station has 58% of average snowpack for this time of year, compared to 77% this time last year.
Across California, snowpack is 85% of average for this time of year. It was 84% in 2024 at this time.
The department measures its snowpack both electronically and by hand in some 260 locations. It purposefully takes measurements at the same time each year, as well as the same spot. Workers at Phillips Station used a tape measure to determine the exact areas they needed to survey.
Now, all eyes look toward April 1 — when snowpack is considered at its peak and when the department will conduct its fourth snow survey this season.
Officials hope that March, the last month with the potential for good snowfall, will bring a series of storms to bolster California’s snowpack. The state gets about half its annual precipitation between December and February.
This winter has brought seesawing weather, from strong storms that for a time brought the state’s snowpack to near normal to Friday’s unseasonably warm and dry conditions. February started strong, though the last two weeks have been dry. State climatologist Michael Anderson said at a Friday afternoon press conference that temperatures have been 15 to 20 degrees higher than normal.
The northern part of the state has fared better with precipitation than Southern California, creating a disparity.
David Rizzardo, manager of the water resource department’s hydrology section, said the state is well behind the pace needed to build snowpack. There’s currently over a 30% difference between the north state’s average snowpack to date and its southern counterpart — 104% versus 70%.
“With so many of this season’s storms missing the southern half of the state, our statewide snowpack average can mask just how below average some regions are,” Reising said in a statement. “Water managers will need to consider not just the extreme swings through the winter and spring months, but also the big differences from watershed to watershed.”
There’s some good news in the short-term forecast, Anderson said. The National Weather Service predicts a storm moving in Saturday and lingering into Monday, bringing as much as 8 inches of snow.
Anticipating the question, Anderson pivoted to what the next rainy season — which likely won’t begin in earnest until at least November — has in store.
“What about next year?” Anderson asked. “The thing is, we don’t know.”