April snowpack in Sierra Nevada is 0% of average. Yes, zero

California’s April snowpack was 0% of the average at the Sierra Nevada, the second lowest on record, the California Department of Water Resources said Wednesday.

Officials said there was practically no measurable snow for the fourth snow survey of the season at Phillips Station. And they blamed record-high temperatures in March as well as high-elevation rain for melting away this year’s below-average snowpack.

“Today, our survey recorded zero inches of water content and zero inches of depth, which puts us at 0% of average for this particular location, “Andy Reising with the department said.

When the department used the automated snow sensor network, officials concluded the statewide snowpack is now just 18% of average.

The snow survey from December 2025 showed a snow depth of 24 inches. The water content of the snow was 50% of the average.

The preliminary findings are troubling because historically April is when snow peaked in the Phillips Station.

“The snow melt that we saw in March looked more like we would typically see in later April or even May,” Reising explained.

Data from the snowpack surveys is a way for water managers across the state to gauge how much water and snow melt will come down the mountains to fill reservoirs.

Currently, the reservoirs across the state are full, but that’s the only water supply California will likely have this year. Typically, accumulated snow through late April or May melts through July and feeds the state’s rivers, streams and reservoirs, according to Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water Resources.

“We need to use our water supplies more than once through significant investment in water recycling, and we need to use it more efficiently,” Nemeth said. “And that’s the future we have in California.”

Additional snow was forecast in the first weeks of April, but it’s not likely to make up for the snowmelt, officials with the department said.