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10h ago

California’s April Snow Survey Finds Near-Record Low Sierra Snowpack

Statewide emergency conservation is off the table for now.

Image
Record heat is melting the Sierra Nevada snowpack at a fast pace as viewed along the mountains at Convict Lake on March 19, 2026 near Mammoth Lakes, California.
The Pit River Bridge stretches over a drying section of Shasta Lake in Lakehead, California on October 16, 2022. - Shasta Lake currently sits at 32% of its capacity as drought conditions persist throughout the west. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
California Cooperative Snow Surveys unit manager Jim Shannon, left, and California Department of Water Resources engineer Jacob Kollen conduct the fourth media snow survey of the 2026 season at Phillips Station, 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County in the Sierra Nevada, on April 1, 2026.

Overview

  • DWR’s annual measurements Wednesday showed Sierra snow water at about 18% of average and found no measurable snow at the longtime Phillips Station site.
  • The State Water Board says it is not implementing statewide emergency water mandates and is not discussing summer drought rules at this time.
  • Despite the weak snowpack, major reservoirs remain high, including Lake Shasta at 90% of capacity (114% of its historical average) and Lake Oroville at 91% (123%).
  • Officials report the snowpack peaked in late February and that record March heat and warm storms sped the melt, which shifts runoff earlier and raises the chance of an earlier fire season.
  • Local suppliers such as EBMUD and Valley Water say supplies are stable now, expect to lean more on groundwater, and frame the results as a warning that could trigger conservation if dry conditions continue.