With no significant amount of precipitation since the first week of the year, and near-record highs, the snowpack has taken a major drop since the beginning of the month. In the Northern Sierra, Department of Water Resources Climatologist, Michael Anderson, says it dropped from 90-percent of normal to just 66-percent, as of Friday. That’s worse than the Central and Southern mountains. Meanwhile, the storage level at Oroville Dam has dropped another three points, to 77-percent of average. It dropped one point at Shasta Dam, to 54-percent. Anderson says another minor system should bring a few more inches of snow on Tuesday, perhaps a little better than the most recent system, earlier this week. And unless the storm door opens more often, the current projection for the critical April snowpack survey has the Northern Sierra at just 53-percent of normal. Also, the U.S Drought Monitor now has most of the state in a “severe drought” stage, including Western Nevada County.