EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. (KNX) — Months after historic blizzards and storms across California, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Tuesday reported almost no fresh snow in January and worries that the Sierra Mountains snowpack, which feeds water supplies across the state, is shrinking.
Tuesday, the DWR completed its second Phillips Station snow survey of the season, recording 48.5 inches of snow depth and a snow-water equivalent of 19 inches.
“A dry January has our Sierra snowpack down to average for this date,” DWR said in a statement. “We will need more winter storms in February and March to be at the above-average levels needed after consecutive dry years.”
Speaking after his team conducted the snowpark survey at Phillips Station, Sean De Guzman said all Californians need to be prepared for a third-consecutive dry year.
“This one year has demonstrated just how variable California's climate can really be. We had record rainfall in October...but that was followed by a dry November,” De Guzman, the manager of the state’s snow surveys, said.
“December snowfall boosted our snowpack well above average...however this past January was one of the driest on record.”
Statewide, De Guzman said the snowpack is at 92% of average and statewide reservoir storage is at about 75% of average, but those averages will only continue to go down if we don’t see more wet weather in February and March.
Beyond what we can expect from the weather, he said it’s important for state residents to use water wisely.
“One thing I’d like to encourage all Californians to do is to embrace wise-water use as a daily habit. We all play a role in conserving water and the simplest changes to our daily routines can have a profound impact.”
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