SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California officials say the Sierra Nevada snowpack is now 162% of average to date, a measurement that determines the outlook for the state's water supplies.
A measurement on a snowy Tuesday at Phillips Station near Lake Tahoe found a snow depth of 106.5 inches (287 centimeters) and a snow water equivalent of 51 inches (129.5 centimeters).
A snow water equivalent is the depth of water that theoretically would result if the entire snowpack melted instantaneously. Experts say a very wet winter has left California drought-free for the first time since December 2011.
Phillips Station is where then-Gov. Jerry Brown attended a snowpack survey in April 2015 that found a field barren of any measureable snow during a historic drought. He later ordered California residents to use less water.
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