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Approaching Winter Storm will Help Snowpack, Water Supply

The first winter measurement of California's snowpack show below normal levels for this date. But stormy weather the next few days could make a difference in the Sierra snowpack and the water supply.

Approaching Winter Storm will Help Snowpack, Water Supply

The first winter measurement of California's snowpack show below normal levels for this date. But stormy weather the next few days could make a difference in the Sierra snowpack and the water supply. Elissa Lynn is the Senior Meteorologist with the state Department of Water Resources.

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Lynn: So statewide we're below average snow-wise. But over the next week if projections hold out and we get as much precipitation as we're expecting, and most of it's going to fall as snow up there, we will be back to normal.

The survey helps water supply planners estimate the amount of spring snowmelt runoff into reservoirs and to figure out this year's water supply. The surveys are particularly significant this year because last year's snowpack yielded only 30 percent of the normal water content. Reservoirs are low too. Because less-than-normal water supply conditions exist, the initial State Water Project allocation for 2008 was placed at 25 percent of water contractors' requested amounts.