Thursday January 4, 2024
LAist —
The California Department of Water Resources recorded 7 1/2 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 3 inches during Tuesday’s first snow survey of the season at Phillips Station.
The sparse patches of snow across the ground were a telltale sign of disappointing results that the data backed up. Tuesday’s measurement revealed about 30% of the average for the date, according to the department.
Sean de Guzman, who manages the Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit for the department, said on the same day last year, he was standing on nearly 6 feet of snow with about 17 1/2 inches of snow water content.
“Vastly different to where we were last year, but still, it’s only the beginning of January for this year,” he said in an interview with LAist’s daily news program AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “We still have a few more months to build up on our snowpack. “