Dry January Drops Snowpack Below Average
Sonora, CA — The second snowpack survey of the year shows California could be in for a very dry year, but winter storms could help elevate that.
The Department of Water Resources recently conducted the second manual reading at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada, finding that the snowpack has fallen well below average following an extremely dry January. The survey recorded 22.5 inches of snow depth and a snowwater equivalent of 8 inches—just 46% of the historical average at that location. Statewide, the snowpack sits at 65% of normal for this time of year. As we reported, the first snowpack reading of the year in January was more than 108% of average.
“This year is a prime example of how much the conditions can change within a year,” stated DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit Manager Andy Reising. “We had good storms in November and December that built that snowpack to a statewide average of 108% and then we had a dry January, which dropped our average all the way down to 65%, so as we can see, when we don’t accumulate snow or rain, it definitely hurt our snowpack, and it requires us to catch up.”
The state has experienced previous years, like in 2021, where early-season gains were erased by prolonged dry spells. With winter storms forecast this week and later in the month, the snowpack has a chance to rebound.
“Several wet storms come to the northern half of the state that will bring significant precipitation and push this part of the state back towards average or maybe above average, but like the storms in November and December coming from the tropics, these atmospheric river storms will be warmer, and the weather models are not unified on how much of the precipitation will fall as snow,” added Reising. “It’s expected to get warmer, some more rain, so we really don’t know how much these next storm systems are going to be bringing. Definitely need more storms throughout the next several months to make up for the very dry January experienced.”
According to the DWR, California’s reservoirs remain in strong shape due to effective water management. Click here for reservoir levels.
