‘Average is awesome’: California pleased with result of critical snowpack survey

After years of swinging extremes, state snowpack is at rare average of 110%, setting up good water savings account for year ahead

On Tuesday morning California officials trekked into the mountains to share some exciting and unusual news: the state's snowpack measurement is just about average. Across the state, the snowpack came in at roughly 110% - a measurement that is exceedingly rare in a changing climate.

The fourth survey of the year, conducted at the beginning of April, is considered one of the most crucial. It serves as an indicator for how the state's water supply will fare through the drier, warmer seasons ahead. The snowpack acts as a water savings account for the state, supplying roughly 30% of California's water and slowly refilling reservoirs, pumping rivers and streams and wetting soils during the dry, warm seasons as it melts. April typically marks the shift out of the precipitation season, which is why this snowpack measurement carries so much weight.