The water in California’s mountain snowpack is just shy of average as spring begins, and a winter storm coming to the Sierra Nevada should offer a boost. The statewide snowpack measured 90% of average on Friday, just ahead of the anticipated April 1 peak before the sun begins melting the snow faster than it can accumulate, sending water flowing into creeks and streams as storms taper off into the spring, said Andy Reising, manager of the Department of Water Resources’ snow surveys and water supply forecasting unit. “Ninety percent is really pretty good.
I’m feeling generally positive,” Reising told reporters as snow fell at Phillips Station in the mountains in the eastern part of the state, one of more than 250 sites where measurements were taken. The news comes as more storms are expected to dump precipitation on Northern California early next week, which prompted officials to bump up the snow survey to avoid traveling during hazardous conditions. It also comes as nearly all of California’s reservoirs are above their historic capacity after two followed a punishing drought that forced severe cutbacks in water usage in cities and on farms.
State officials said they will provide a survey update next week after the storm. The snowpack provides about a third of the water used each year in California, which is home to 39 million people and grows much of the country’s fresh fruit and vegetables. The state has built a complex system of canals and dams to capture and s.
