Snow Survey Finds California Water Nearly Doubled

California cities and farms can expect ample water supplies this summer after winter storms blanketed the Sierra Nevada, nearly doubling the snowpack average for this time of year, state water officials said Thursday. The fifth and final survey of the season at Phillips Station recorded 47 inches (119 centimeters) of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 27.5 inches (70 centimeters), the Department of Water Resources said. That’s 188% of average for the location near Lake Tahoe. Just four years ago, then-Gov. Jerry Brown found a field at Phillips Station barren of any measureable snow amid an historic drought.