Watch CBS News

Sierra Snow Being Measured Today; Expectations Remain Low

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — State surveyors will travel up the High Sierra on Tuesday to take their monthly measurements of the snowpack, learning if recent storms brought any relief to California's drought.

Expectations are low, despite surveyors performing their work this week as storm clouds burst open.

Rain fell in San Francisco on Monday afternoon, bringing with it lightning that struck several planes and damaged at least one home in nearby Sausalito. More lightning and thunder were expected on Tuesday.

By Monday evening, snow also began blanketing the Sierra Nevada in a system that is expected to deliver up to a foot by early Wednesday. Two school districts in El Dorado canceled class on Tuesday. Forecasters for the National Weather Service said some places at high elevations may get 2 feet of fresh snow.

Yet, those closely monitoring California's drought aren't impressed and hold little hope that the snowpack surveyors will report back any good news.

"Expect it to be really, really abnormally low," said Peter Gleick, president of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute. He spoke in a conference call Monday with reporters in anticipation of the state releasing its official snowpack figures.

California is in its third consecutive dry year, and in January Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency. Prior to recent storms, California's snow-water content was estimated to be at 25 percent of normal.

The California Department of Water Resources measures the snowpack monthly during the wet season. The Sierra Nevada snowpack is important because it stores water that melts in the spring as runoff. Communities and farmers depend on it during California's hot, dry summers.

The April 1 survey is critical because it marks the peak of the snowpack. There's just one month remaining of the rainy season.

Some farmers in the parched Central Valley have been told they will receive no irrigation water from California's two vast systems of reservoirs and canals this summer, and many have left fields unplanted. Updated estimates on irrigation water from state and federal officials for farmers won't be ready for days or weeks.

Nancy Vogel, a spokeswoman for California's Department of Water Resources, said the state water levels remain in flux, given the current wet weather. Another weaker system is forecast to hit California late Thursday and into Friday.

"It'll take some time to quantify the results of the storms," she said. "Hopefully, it'll still be snowing."

Related Stories

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.