Friday January 26, 2024
FOX 40 —
California nears competition of a January that has seen far less rain and snow than the previous year leaving a significantly lower snowpack while reservoirs statewide remain at historic highs.
The month began with a disappointing snowpack measurement in the Central Sierra Nevada at the Phillips Station snow survey.
Snowpack levels were measured at 30% of the average for Jan. 2, which was a stark contrast to the over 200% above average snowpack measurement taken at the same location on Jan. 10, 2023.
“Here at Phillips last year on this date we were standing on nearly five feet of snow,” Department of Water Resources Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecast Section Manager Sean de Guzman said following the measurement. “So vastly different than what we are standing on here today.”
Other snow surveys around the state concluded that the statewide snowpack average was around 25% of the year-to-date average.