Sierra Snowpack Melting Away

An unusually early warm spell coupled with a dry March has trimmed what had been an above-normal Sierra snowpack.

State water watchers say they're not worried about the state's water supply, however, because of the heavy snowfall that accumulated earlier in the winter.

More than a third of California's drinking and irrigation water comes from Sierra snow, while snow-fed hydroelectric plants produce about a quarter of California's power.

Southern California in particular remains dry, but much of the region's water is imported from other areas.

The northern Sierra was about 106 percent of normal. The central Sierra dropped to about 80 percent of a typical late spring snowpack, and the southern Sierra was about 75 percent of average.

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