Bountiful snowpack marks second straight season with above-average start to April

Tuesday’s state snow survey in the Sierra Nevada determined that despite a dry start to the winter season, the snowpack is now above average — making this water year the second in a row with above-average snowpack for drought-weary California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot joined the Department of Water Resources’ snow survey team at Phillips Station, located off Highway 50 in El Dorado County, where manual snow surveys have been taken by the state for decades as part of the water allocation forecast process. DWR conducts five snow surveys at Phillips Station each winter near the first of each month, January through April and, if necessary, May.