California’s snowpack is supposed to reach its peak April 1, so state surveyors held their final Sierra snow survey of the year in a meadow near Lake Tahoe. But instead of peak snow, they found nothing they could measure, just some sparse patches of snow on the bare meadow grass. “We’re calling today’s measurement zero,” said Andy Reising, manager of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources. Light snow is seen on the meadow where the California Department of Water Resources conducts the fourth media snow survey of the 2026 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada. of Water Resources)Precipitation in California has been nearly average since October, but more of that precipitation is falling as rain, less as snow.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 01, 2026 16:28 UTC