Wednesday January 15, 2025
SF Gate —
At the beginning of the new year, California’s snowpack looked promising. On Jan. 2, the state’s Department of Water Resources measured the snowpack at 108% of average, for that date.
The bomb cyclone in November and a push of winter storms in December had set up California’s mountains with a better start than last year. On the same day last year, the state’s snowpack was just 28% of average, to date.
“While our snowpack looks good now, we have a long way until April when our water supply picture will be more complete,” said Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth in a statement.
No one knows how the rest of this winter will play out. In both 2013 and 2022, dry conditions followed above-average snowpacks in January. However, it’s worth noting that these early statewide snowpack figures are glossing over the extreme shifts between wet and dry weather in California.
So far this winter, storms from the Pacific Northwest have been sweeping across the far northern parts of California, while Southern California experiences record-setting drought conditions. Since Jan. 1, the Sierra Nevada has been in a holding pattern of perpetual sun, with no sign of a storm in the forecast.