Despite few strong January storms, the second official survey of the season shows snowpack levels that are considered just a little below average. Statewide, it’s 72-percent of average, compared to 100-percent a year ago. But in the Northern Sierra, it’s still at 77-percent, the same as it was a month ago. Chris Orrock, with the Department of Water Resources, says it’s actually not critical that we hit 100-percent or higher. And even though December and January are historically our snowiest months, February and March can also produce a lot of precipitation…

And that’s why reservoir levels still look good, at 113-percent of average at Shasta Dam and 95-percent at Oroville Dam. Meanwhile, Orrock says the state continues to improve the accuracy of long-range forecasting beyond 10 to 14 days…

And the snowpack drops the further you go south, at 71-percent of normal in the Central Sierra and 69-percent in the Southern range.