Snowfall in much of the Sierra remains sparse. Is California in another drought?

The Sierra Nevada’s snowpack is disappointingly thin, and California’s drought-like conditions continue despite a wet weather forecast for the New Year’s holiday.

The overall mountain snowpack is just 52% of average for this time of year as dry conditions persist for a second consecutive winter, the Department of Water Resources said Wednesday. A closely-watched index of rain and snow gauges in the northern Sierra is registering just 55% of average.

Ironically, DWR found plenty of snow when it conducted a manual survey of snow conditions Wednesday at Phillips, the site of a former stage coach stop at an elevation of 6,800 feet near Echo Summit.

Sean de Guzman, DWR’s chief of snow surveys, reported 30.5 inches of snow and 10.5 inches of “snow water content” at Phillips, where the state agency conducts monthly manual surveys through the winter. The water content was 93% of normal for this time of year.

But the Phillips reading was an aberration. “The fall of 2020 has been extremely dry,” de Guzman told reporters after the measurement.

Separately, the U.S. Drought Monitor, a compilation of various indicators, said 95% of California was experiencing some form of drought last week. The state’s epic five-year drought, the worst in modern history, was officially declared over in early 2017 by former Gov. Jerry Brown.

A saving grace: The National Weather Service said some help is on the way.

The service said rain and snow were forecast for Northern California starting Wednesday evening, with intermittent precipitation coming over the next several days.

Wet winters are crucial to replenishing the state’s reservoirs and maintaining California’s water supply through the dry summer and fall. The major reservoirs are doing about as poorly as the mountains this winter — Folsom Lake is just 61% of normal and Shasta is 72%.

This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 12:40 PM.