ECHO SUMMIT, Calif. (AP) – The first snow survey of the Sierra Nevada snowpack this winter found more snow than last year at this time, but not enough to impact the California drought.
The Department of Water Resources conducted the survey Tuesday about 90 miles east of Sacramento.
Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, said there were 21.3 inches of snow on the ground.
Following recent storms, he said, the survey found more snow in the mountains than last year at this time, but the water content is still far below average for the date.
California's snowpack supplies about a third of the water needed by state residents, agriculture and industry as it melts in the late spring and summer.
