'Huge Gains' In CA Snowpack Free Half Of State From Drought

UNION CITY, CA — The state's continuous stormy weather is making California's large snowpack even larger, state water officials confirmed during their third snow survey of the year and that means good news for the state which has suffered from drought for nearly three years.

Combined with the series of winter storms that hit California in December and January, recent storms have given the state "huge gains" and an above-average snowpack, water officials said in a news release issued after the March 3 snow survey.

After the months of heavy rain and snow, drought conditions are hugely improved throughout the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor which shows about 25 percent of the state in a severe drought as compared to just over 80 percent at the beginning of the rainy season.

The latest survey also found that moderate or severe drought covers about 49% of the state, nearly 17% of the state is free of drought or a condition described as abnormally dry. The remainder is still abnormally dry.

"Clearly the amount of water that's fallen this year has greatly alleviated the drought," said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. "It has not ended the drought completely but we're in a very different place than we were a year ago."

California's latest drought began in 2020 and no relief appeared in sight heading into this winter.

Three months ago virtually all of California was in drought, including at extreme and exceptional levels. Water agencies serving millions of people, agriculture and industry were told to expect only a fraction of requested allocations.

Last week's survey painted a different picture.

"The manual survey recorded 116.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 41.5 inches, which is 177 percent of average for this location on March 3," the California Department of Water Resources said.

DWR's electronic snow sensors throughout the state detected that the snowpack's snow water equivalent is 44.7 inches, which is 190 percent of average for the date.

"Thankfully the recent storms combined with the January atmospheric rivers have contributed to an above-average snowpack that will help fill some of the state's reservoirs and maximize groundwater recharge efforts. But the benefits vary by region, and the Northern Sierra, home to the state's largest reservoir Lake Shasta, is lagging behind the rest of the Sierra," DWR Director Karla Nemeth said. "It will also take more than one good year to begin recovery of the state's groundwater basins."

Although the statewide snowpack is currently just behind the record snow year of 1982-83, the snowpack varies considerably by region, DWR said in the news release.

"The Southern Sierra snowpack is currently 209 percent of its April 1 average and the Central Sierra is at 175 percent of its April 1 average. However, the critical Northern Sierra, where the state’s largest surface water reservoirs are located, is at 136 percent of its April 1 average."

With only one month of the traditional wet season remaining, DWR is providing updated runoff forecasts to water managers and is closely monitoring spring runoff scenarios and river flows to ensure the most water supply benefits from this year’s snowpack while balancing the need for flood control.

"The recent storms over the past week broke a month-long dry spell in a dramatic way," said DWR's Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit Manager Sean de Guzman. "We are hopeful that we will see more cold storms to add to our snowpack for the next month and help set up a long, slow melt period into spring."

DWR's next snow survey is tentatively scheduled for April 3.