California Begins 2025 With Solid Start to Winter Snowpack, but More Storms Are Needed

California Begins 2025 With Solid Start to Winter Snowpack, but More Storms Are Needed
(L–R) Angelique Fabbiani-Leon, Manon von Kaenel, Jordan Thoennes, and Andy Reising from the California Department of Water Resources conduct the first snow survey of the season to assess how much water the state might have come spring and summer at Phillips Station on Jan. 2, 2025. Brooke Hess-Homeier/AP Photo
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PHILLIPS STATION, Calif.—California is beginning 2025 with a solid start to the winter snowpack, officials said Thursday, but they cautioned that more storms are needed to keep the state’s water supplies on track.

Officials at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range that covers the eastern part of the state, recorded a snow depth of 24 inches, said Andy Reising, manager of the Department of Water Resources’ snow surveys and water supply forecasting unit. The water content of the snowpack at the station is currently at 91 percent of the average for this time of year and 37 percent of the average for April 1, when the Sierra snowpack is typically at its peak, he said.