The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has conducted the first snow survey of the season at Phillips Station and recorded 55.5 in of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 17.5 in, which is 177% of average for this location.
The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast. Statewide, the snowpack is 174% of average for this date.
California is expected to see continued rain and snow through Jan. 10, with the threat of flooding in some areas.
“The significant Sierra snowpack is good news but unfortunately these same storms are bringing flooding to parts of California,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “This is a prime example of the threat of extreme flooding during a prolonged drought as California experiences more swings between wet and dry periods brought on by our changing climate.”
Farther to the east, meanwhile, snow water equivalent in the headwaters of the Colorado River in Colorado were 128% of median as of Jan. 5, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Other tributary rivers in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains were anywhere from 123% to 148% of median, data showed. The median peak snowpack in the headwaters of the Colorado River is in early April. Colorado River hydrology is critical to the operation of hydroelectric facilities and water distribution networks across a multi-state region in the Southwest as well as Mexico.
On average, California’s Sierra snowpack supplies about 30% of the state’s water needs and is an important factor in determining how DWR manages the state’s water resources. Its ability to store water is why the Sierra snowpack is often referred to as California’s “frozen reservoir.” A below-average snowpack impacts water users across the state, putting further stress on the environment and critical groundwater supplies.
Conditions so far this season are strikingly similar to last year, DWR said, with early rainstorms and strong December snow totals, only to experience the driest January through March on record. One year ago, the Phillips survey showed the seventh highest January measurements on record for that location. However, by April 1 of last year, the Phillips survey measurements were the third lowest on record.
DWR’s electronic readings from 130 stations placed throughout the state indicate that statewide, the snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 17.1 in, or 174% of average for this date.
“Big snow totals are always welcome, but we still have a long way to go before the critical April 1 total,” said DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit Manager Sean de Guzman. “It’s always great to be above average this early in the season, but we must be resilient and remember what happened last year. If January through March of 2023 turn out to be similar to last year, we would still end the water year in severe drought with only half of an average year’s snowpack.”
Due to increasing swings from dramatically wet to dry conditions, Governor Newsom’s recent “California’s Water Supply Strategy, Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future” calls for investing in new projects and technologies that will modernize how the state manages water. The recently adopted 2022 Update to the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan identifies actions needed to adapt much of California’s flood infrastructure to a rapidly changing climate. Current climate research indicates the state will see bigger swings from extreme heat and dry conditions to larger and more powerful storms that deliver temporary large boosts to the state snowpack as well as flood risk.
DWR operates the State Water Project (SWP), which provides water to 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians and also uses the water for hydropower generation. The SWP is a system of 32 storage facilities, 21 pumping plants, four pumping-generating plants, eight conventional hydroelectric plants and about 700 miles of canals and pipelines. Among these generating plants is the 762 MW Hyatt Powerplant at the foot of Oroville Dam.
