LOS ANGELES (AP) — The water content of California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack is well below normal as the wet season winds down.
The state Department of Water Resources says the snowpack was measured Thursday at 59% of the April 1 average.
Historically, that's the date when the snowpack is deepest and has the highest water content.
The unsurprising result follows a second consecutive dry winter and comes amid indicators that California is entering another drought just a few years after a five-year dry spell.
Overall, the state has received only about 50% of average precipitation in the current water year and its major reservoirs are only about half full.
