Monday March 31, 2025
San Francisco Chronicle —
California is on track to finish the winter season with nearly as much snow as average, a notable achievement after a sluggish start and weeks of dry January weather. That leaves the state’s water fortunes bright — for the third straight year.
The April state snow survey, the critical end-of-season measure that typically reveals the peak snow accumulation in California’s mountains, is expected to show a healthy snowpack, particularly in the north, as the results start coming in on Friday. Such conditions ensure at least a decent amount of runoff into rivers and reservoirs where snowmelt provides about a third of the water used by Californians.
And more snow is probably on the way next week.
Given that the previous two winters were also near- or above-average, water supplies are already formidable, with the state’s major reservoirs holding about 115% of what they typically hold this time of year. Experts don’t expect new restrictions on household water use come summer.