California's 3rd Snowpack Measure This Winter Far Below Normal
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF)— California's third snow survey this winter found the Sierra Nevada snowpack is far below normal and leaning toward being the lowest on record in more than two decades.
Tuesday's measurements were taken at 6,800 feet in an area about 90 miles east of Sacramento.
The survey found a snowpack water equivalent of just 0.9 inches near Echo Summit. That's down from a measurement of 2.3 inches in January.
The scant pack amounts to just 5 percent of the long-term average for this time of year at the survey spot. That's down from 12 percent in the last survey.
The snowpack supplies about a third of the water needed by state residents, agriculture and industry.
Statewide, water content is 19 percent of the historical average for this time of year.
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