Snowpack Jan 13

Mike Stephens

News Reporter

With the recent rain fall and snowpack. The numbers are looking promising this season. The numbers of current regional snowpack from automated snow sensors, has been released by the Department of Water Resources. All data is from January 3rd 2022.

The areas are Northern Sierra/Trinity, Central Sierra and the Southern Sierra.

Northern Sierra; 30 reporting stations, average snow water equivalent 15 inches. 52 percent of April 1 average and 135 percent of normal for this date.

Central Sierra; 43 reporting stations, average snow water equivalent 16.8 inches. 57 percent of April 1 average and 148 percent of normal for this date.

South Sierra; 30 reporting stations, average snow water equivalent 14 inches. 55 percent of April 1 average and 160 percent of normal for this date.

State numbers are; with 103 reporting stations, average snow water equivalent 15.5 inches. 55 percent of April 1 average and 147 percent of normal for this date.

California has experienced wet Decembers before only to have storms disappear for the remainder of the season.

On average, the Sierra snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California’s water needs and the snowpack is an important factor in determining how the Department of Water Recourses manages the state’s water resources. Its natural ability to store water is why the Sierra snowpack is often referred to as California's “frozen reservoir.”