SACRAMENTO (AP) — The water contained in California’s mountain snow is now lower than the historical average after a January without significant rain or snow.
Snow totals updated Tuesday by the state Department of Water Resources show the amount of water in the Sierra Nevada mountain’s snowpack is at 92% of what’s normal for this date.
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That’s a dramatic reversal from December, when heavy rain and snow left the state with 160% of its average snow water content.
State officials will conduct their regular “snow survey” later Tuesday, where they will physically measure snow totals near Lake Tahoe. The state measures snow totals electronically and manually at hundreds of locations.
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The State Water Resources Control Board is also expected to provide an update on how Californians are complying with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for a voluntary 15% reduction in water use.
The nation’s most populous state needs a wet winter to ease California’s drought and this year’s dry conditions are less dire so far than they were a year ago. Most of California is now in what’s considered “severe drought” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, with only a small part of the state classified as being in the more serious “extreme drought.”
Winter snow is a crucial part of California’s water supply and December through March are typically the wettest months of the year. Snow that melts in the mountains and runs down into California’s lower elevations makes up about a third of the state’s water supply.
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Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.