January 2019 Snow Survey

On January 3, 2019, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) will conduct the first snow survey media availability of the season. Join DWR staff via Facebook Live as they measure water content in the snowpack, a key indicator for water supply. 

The Phillips Station snow course is one of more than 260 snow courses across the Sierra Nevada that DWR manually or electronically measures each winter and early spring. Data collected from the monthly snow surveys help determine the amount of water that will melt and run off to state reservoirs during warmer months. The information is critical to the water managers who allocate California’s natural water resources to regions downstream. 

John King with DWR’s Snow Survey Section, along with Dr. Michael Anderson (DWR’s State Climatologist), will conduct the snow survey.