Sierra snowpack at 59% but ‘next few weeks will be critical’

California water officials on Thursday reported the statewide snowpack is just 59% of average for this time of year as the state continues to experience one of the driest years on record.

It’s the second straight year of low numbers, after the Department of Water Resources recorded a reading of 53% on April 1 a year ago. The back-to-back low measurements could mean the return of summer drought conditions and water-use restrictions for the first time since 2016.

The April 1 survey is typically the most important of the year, when the snowpack is the deepest and has the highest snow-water content. It also marks the end of the wet season for California and is a key indicator for water supply.

The average snow water equivalent measured at 16.5 inches statewide, according to DWR’s April 1 report. The snowpack surveys help DWR officials determine how much snow will melt and runoff into

California’s reservoirs. De Guzman said the latest snowmelt runoff forecast was 58% of average statewide. The number marks a second consecutive low point for the surveys. Last year the April 1 survey runoff forecast was at 60% after a relatively dry winter.

The snowpack has been a relative bright spot this winter as California has mostly not had heavy nor consistent storms. But the northern and central Sierra Nevada mountains collected a considerable amount of snow from this year’s winter storms, said Sean de Guzman, DWR’s chief of snow surveys.

Still, the snowpack total was also down from a month ago, when on March 1 it was at 61% of its historical average.

“The few storms that have impacted California have actually been colder storms which have brought a lot more snow than rain compared to a typical year,” de Guzman said. “As the snowpack starts to melt, the big unknowns are how dry are the soils beneath the snowpack? And how much water will absorb into those soils before running off into our rivers and streams?”