California will start 2026 far below peak snowpack, raising concerns about water supply
Dec 30, 2025, 1:06 PM | Updated: 2:04 pm
PHILLIPS STATION, Calif. (AP) — California will begin 2026 with nearly a quarter of the snow needed to reach peak snowpack levels for the spring, a state official said Tuesday, adding it’s too soon to know how the state’s water supplies will fare in the coming year.
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 (61 centimeters), said Angelique Fabbiani-Leon, state hydrometeorologist at the Department of Water Resources’ snow surveys and water supply forecasting unit. The water content of the snowpack at the station is currently at 50% of the average for this time of year and 21% of the average for April 1, when the Sierra snowpack is typically at its peak, she said.
The survey was the first in a seasonal series of manual measurements at Phillips Station, which had no snow until recent storms swept through the region, and another and colder storm system is expected this week, she said. The department also collects measurements with electronic instruments at other sites, and said that statewide the snowpack is 71% of average.
“The series of storms over the past week increased our snowpack significantly,” Fabbiani-Leon told reporters. “We’re still early in the season.”
The snowpack serves as a huge frozen reservoir, providing about a third of the water used annually in California as it melts each spring and flows into rivers and streams. The state has built a complex system of canals and dams to capture and store the water in reservoirs for the hot, dry months when it doesn’t rain or snow. Fabbiani-Leon said the state’s major reservoirs were in good shape for this time of year.
The measurements are closely watched in California, which is home to 39 million people and grows much of the country’s fresh fruit and vegetables. The health of the snowpack helps determine whether California will face challenges providing water during the hot summer months to farms and cities.
About a year ago, officials recorded a water content of the snowpack at Phillips Station of 91% of the average. In 2025, the state’s snowpack was near average just ahead of the April 1 peak and the state’s reservoirs above their historic capacity after two wet winters following a years-long drought that forced severe cutbacks in water use.
