Sierra Snow Survey Results Below Normal, But Winter Start Is Encouraging
EL DORADO COUNTY (CBS 13) - Water levels in this year's snow pack are below the monthly average. But with the first snow survey of the year completed on Tuesday, the snowfall doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon.
"That's very important for water supply deliveries down into the Central Valley and into Southern California," said Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program in the Department of Water Resources.
Nearly 30 percent of California's water supply comes from Sierra snow. According to snow surveyors, Phillips Station on Highway 50 was nearly snowless about a week prior to the survey.
With snow tubes and measuring tape in hand, Gehrke returns to the same spot once a month to find out more about the snow pack: how deep it is, how dense it is and how much water it's holding.
"You take a core sample of the snow, weigh it and from that determine the water content," he said.
Tuesday's measurement came back with a water content level of 6 inches, which is 53% of the long-term average or 5.3 inches below January's monthly average of 11.3 inches for the area. In other words, the drought isn't over just yet.
"We had a great October," Gehrke said. "Many of the stations set monthly records for precipitation in October and that really set us up well for increases in reservoir storage. This precipitation that we get up in the mountains ends up recharging the groundwater in the valley. Very important for us to work our way out of this dry spell."
Gerkhi is hopeful continued snowfall will help the reservoirs stay stocked throughout the spring. For him, seeing this much snow fall in just a few days is a sign of good things to come for the next three months.
"I think it's a very encouraging start to the winter," he said.
Wet weather in the forecast for the next week will only build on the existing snow pack. But according to the DWR, the snow will have the most water in April so we'll have to wait until then to get a clear picture of just how wet this season has been.
