The amount of water in California’s mountain snowpack is only about half of average for early winter.
The state Department of Water Resources says automated measurements on 260 snow courses statewide Wednesday found the snow-water content to be 52% of average to date.
The season's first manual measurement at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada found a bit of better news with that location showing 93% of average.
Water Resources official Sean de Guzman says it's important to conserve water but he notes the usually wet months of January and February are yet to come and a few storms can create most of the Sierra snowpack.
