As you might expect, the Sierra snowpack has grown significantly in the last month. It’s 171-percent of average for the Northern range, compared to 133-percent a month ago, according to the second official survey of the season. Statewide, it’s 205-percent. Sean de Guzman is the manager of the Department of Water Resource’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit. He says there were nine atmospheric rivers between late December and mid-January. It was one of the wettest three-week periods on record. That’s a far cry from a year ago, when January was nearly-dry…

click to listen to Sean de Guzman

De Guzman also mentions that storms have been fairly cold, minimizing snow melt, and there were a lot of cloudy days…

click to listen to Sean de Guzman

Meanwhile, a light system is forecast for overnight Thursday and early Friday morning, with a more moderate system coming in on Sunday. And de Guzman says even if warmer and drier conditions return over the last two months of the season, the critical April snowpack, normally the last of the season, should stay above-normal for the first time since 2019.