Dry January cuts into early-season snowpack gains

News release

The Department of Water Resources has announced the results of its second snow survey of the season at Phillips Station, saying the manual survey recorded 23 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 8 inches, which is 46% of average for this location.  

The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast. Statewide, the snowpack is 59% of average, as of last week. 

Three weeks prior, the snowpack was 89% of average after a series of atmospheric rivers provided relief from a slow start to the snowpack. A dry January, which is historically the wettest month of the year in California, has now eroded the gains made at the start of the year. 

“After the storms at the start of the year gave way to warm, dry conditions, those early gains we saw have flatlined or slightly eroded,” Andy Reising, manager of DWR’s Snow Survey’s and Water Supply Forecasting Unit, said in a DWR news release. “Recent California winters have seen this pattern of long, dry and warm stretches interrupted by intense storms. We are now two-thirds through what should be the best snow-producing months of the year. While there is still time for February and March to deliver additional snow, the farther into the season we get with below average conditions, the harder it will be to catch up.”  

DWR’s electronic readings from 130 stations placed throughout the Sierra Nevada indicate that the statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 9.7 inches, or 59% of average for this date, compared to 67% on this date last year. On average, the largest snow-producing months in the Sierra Nevada are January, February and March. 

While the state has experienced a recent dry spell, major reservoirs statewide are currently 126% of average thanks to recent precipitation on top of three consecutive years of above-average snowpack conditions, as well efforts by California to capture and store as much water as possible. 

On average, the Sierra snowpack supplies about 30% of California’s water needs. Its natural ability to store water is why the Sierra snowpack is often referred to as California’s “frozen reservoir.” Data from these snow surveys and forecasts produced by DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit are key factors in determining how DWR manages the state’s water resources. Snowpack runoff forecasts drive many water management decisions including State Water Project allocations. 

The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency derives about half of its supply for local customers through imported water, including the State Water Project, which has a southern terminus at Castaic Lake. The remaining local supply is derived from groundwater. 

DWR conducts four media-oriented snow surveys at Phillips Station each winter near the first of each month, January through April and, if necessary, May. The next survey is tentatively scheduled for March 2. 

For California’s current hydrological conditions, visit cww.water.ca.gov.

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