Though things may change over the next few days amid a winter weather advisory for parts of L.A. County, Sean De Guzman with the California Department of Water Resources told KNX News' Margaret Carrero, "Our statewide snowpack is looking at about 25% of average-to-date."
The snow depth recorded at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada was just 7.5 inches, and the snow water content was three inches. According to De Guzman, "That results in 30% of average-to-date and 12% of the April 1 average here at this location."
He said they use April 1 snow metrics because, in terms of snow water content, that's typically when the snowpack is at its peak in the Sierra Nevada.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
As for the statewide snowpack, which is 25% of average-to-date, is based on DWR's automated snow sensor network.
De Guzman said that last year, the statewide snowpack was already more than 185% of the average, "Which is more than half of the average yearly total. Here at Phillips, last year on this date, we were sitting on almost 5ft of snow, so vastly different than what we are standing on here today," he said.
He also said it's still too early to determine what kind of year we'll have in terms of wet or dry, adding that, luckily, reservoirs in the state are still well above average.
DWR conducts five 'media-oriented' snow surveys at Phillips Station each winter, with the next survey tentatively scheduled for February 1.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok