Back to back.
California’s snowpack was above its April 1 annual average for the second year in a row, according to new data from the California Department of Water Resources. The survey, which is the fourth measurement of each winter’s snowpack from 130 locations around the state, found that the snowpack water sat at 28.6 inches, 110 percent of the annual average.
That stat looks fairly significant now that spring is officially here because snowpack totals in early winter painted a very different picture. On January 1, the state’s snowpack was sitting at just 28 percent of average. The information is valuable to the DWR because it helps them develop water conservation plans for the state. The Sierra snowpack in particular supplies about 30 percent of the state’s water needs — an important role for a state with 27 million people.
But West Coast powder hounds aren’t all that interested in the water supply. The new April snow survey paints a picture of how this El Niño winter played out. It also offers some hope that at least a few favorite mountains will provide some great spring conditions.
Last year’s La Niña saw a lot more snow from wire to wire. The snowpack was approaching a decade-long high in January 2023 but the trend in that span had been similar strong starts with winter storms and snow totals limping toward the April 1 finish line. This winter, however, the Golden State didn’t reach 100 percent of its annual average until late March thanks to a few last-minute storms.
US Stormwatch’s Colin McCarthy called the late flurry “an unprecedented winter comeback in the modern era.”
California’s snowpack has made an amazing comeback this winter and is now 110% of normal for the April 1 peak.
California’s snowpack was just 28% of normal on January 1.
An unprecedented winter comeback in the modern era. pic.twitter.com/87GdS0JEh1
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) April 2, 2024
