Average Snow Year Thus Far For Sierra Nevada

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Sonora, CA — Department of Water Resources officials will hike up to conduct the first manual reading of the Sierra Nevada snowpack on Thursday, and electronic sensors indicate it will be right near the average for this time of year.

Statewide, the snowpack is estimated to be around 102-percent of average for the date. The northern Sierra is lagging behind at 90-percent, the central Sierra (includes Tuolumne and Calaveras counties) is 105-percent and the southern Sierra is 119-percent.

Local reservoirs are also looking strong when compared to historical averages. New Melones is holding 1.9 million acre-feet of water, which is 130-percent of its average for the date and 82-percent of capacity. Don Pedro is at 107-percent of average and 80-percent of capacity. Lake McClure is 125-percent of average and 62-percent of capacity.