Sierra Nevada Snowpack Below Average, But Nowhere Near Levels From Most Recent Drought

The snowpack California relies on for much of its annual water supply is below average as we head into February according to the state's second snow survey of the season.

The reading was taken Thursday at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada, near Lake Tahoe. It shows the water content is just 79 percent of average for that location, this time of year. And statewide, electronic sensors show even lower readings, just 72 percent.

The Department of Water Resources said that while below average, the conditions are decent. Sean de Guzman conducted the survey and said we're nowhere near the levels we saw from 2012 to 2015. 

"When you start talking droughts, it's a multi-year event," said de Guzman. "It doesn't just happen from month to month. It's going to take quite a while to get back to those historic levels.

He also said climate change is throwing off the seasonal norms the state once relied on.

"We're seeing the snowline now rising a little bit higher up. We're seeing the runoff starting to run off earlier in the season compared to what we typically have,” de Guzman said. “Varying conditions that we're not really used to seeing."

He said the state's reservoirs are also in good shape, and there's still a big chunk of rainy season ahead. However, dry weather is predicted in current short and long range forecasting.