DWR’s first manual snow survey of 2024 details slow start to the season
Historically, Northern California's snowiest weeks still lie ahead. That has water managers cautiously optimistic.
Historically, Northern California's snowiest weeks still lie ahead. That has water managers cautiously optimistic.
Historically, Northern California's snowiest weeks still lie ahead. That has water managers cautiously optimistic.
California's first manual snow survey of 2024 at Phillips Station on Tuesday shows a dry start to the water year in the mountains.
The Department of Water Resources survey notched 7.5 inches of snow depth with a snow water equivalent of 3 inches – 30% below the average for the location to date.
Snow survey manager Sean de Guzman said the data was in line with California's statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent of 2.5 inches, or 25% of the average to date.
The manual snow surveys are used to help forecast the water supply for the year, along with daily automated measurements and satellite data.
“Today’s result shows that it’s still really too early to determine what kind of year we’ll have in terms of wet or dry,” de Guzman said. “There could be so many things that happen with our storm systems between now and April when we should see our peak snowpack.”
Historically, California's snowiest weeks still lie ahead. Water managers remain cautiously optimistic for the pattern to pick up. That optimism is buoyed by a surplus of water in major reservoirs thanks to last year's big winter.
The state’s reservoirs remain above the average for this time of year. The statewide reservoir system is about 116% of the average. The water level on Lake Shasta is currently the highest it has been in early January since 2020.
Dozens of other agencies and private organizations will conduct their own manual snow surveys in the days ahead.
That includes the Placer County Water Agency, which owns and operates French meadows Reservoir and Hell Hole Reservoir.
PCWA General Manager Andy Fecko says that both lakes are in a good spot for the start of 2024, but they'll be managed with conservation in mind.
“There’s always a fine balance about how much water we release from our reservoirs to make hydroelectric energy," says Fecko, "And so I best characterized where we are now as maintenance mode. When the grid needs energy, we’ll run some water through our generators and then mostly we’re conserving water and seeing how the weather turns out.”
The Sierra snowpack supplies about 30% of California’s water needs, providing water during the spring runoff season that can then be stored in reservoirs for the drier summer months.
Snow surveys at Phillips Station have been done since 1941. Last year’s snowpack at Phillips Station was 177% of the average for this time, described as one of the best starts in 40 years. California's snowpack that season went on to become one of the largest on record.
The next survey is planned for Feb. 1.