State Snow Water Content Reached 80 Percent Of Normal

By Bill Johnson Published Mar 2, 2009 03:15 pm Updated Mar 2, 2009 05:18 pm

Sacramento, CA — The February storms definitely added to the Sierra Nevada snowpack but the measurements are still well below what the Department of Water Resources would like to see for California.

Today’s measurement showed that overall for the state the snow water content is 80 percent of normal. Last year at this time the figure was 114 percent of normal according to Frank Gehrke of the Snow Surveys Office.

The northern Sierra Nevada measurement for the start of March is 84 percent, the central (the Mother Lode) is 77 percent and the southern Sierra Nevada is 83 percent.

Over this past weekend Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency as 2009 marks the third consecutive year of drought conditions in California.

Written by bill.johnson@mlode.com