Snowpack
Snow season overSierra Nevada snowpack
Basin snow water equivalent vs the 1991-2020 median, 32 SNOTEL stations
Data through Oct 15, 2026 · source last checked Oct 17, 2026 · page revised Oct 17, 2026
Cite
- This snow year
- 1991-2020 median
About this data
- Source
- USDA NRCS SNOTEL (Air-Water Database)
- Series
- Snow water equivalent (WTEQ), basin-index percent of the 1991-2020 median
- Geography
- Sierra Nevada
- Unit
- in
- Calculation
- Daily reading, aggregated across reporting SNOTEL stations
- Last observation
- Jun 22, 2026
- Update frequency
- Daily in season (Oct-Jun); melts out by mid-summer
Snow year complete. Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 0.0 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 1, 2026. The 2028 snow year begins October 1.
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 0.0 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 1, 2026, as the snow year wrapped. Water-year precipitation stands at 0.1 in, just 27% of the 1991-2020 median.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| This season's peak (SWE) | 0.0 in on Oct 1, 2026 |
| Percent of median at last snow reading | 0% (Jun 22, 2026) |
| Water-year precipitation to date | 0.1 in (27% of median) |
Previous weeks
An earlier week
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 0.0 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 12, 2026. Water-year precipitation to date stands at 0.1 in, 30% of the 1991-2020 median.
Week of Oct 7, 2026
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 0.1 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 2, then dropped to 0.060 in by Oct 7. A new snow year began October 1, with water-year precipitation at 0.0 in.
Week of Sep 30, 2026
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 15.3 in of snow water equivalent on Feb 19, 2026, 68% of the normal peak. The snow melted out by late June. Water-year precipitation totaled 1.7 in, 89% of the median.
Week of Sep 23, 2026
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 15.3 in on Feb 19, reaching 68% of the normal peak. Water-year precipitation totaled 36.4 in, 103% of median, suggesting adequate moisture that failed to accumulate at elevation. The 2027 snow year begins October 1.
About Sierra Nevada snowpack
Snow water equivalent (SWE) is the depth of water held in the snowpack, and it is the single number that best predicts the coming spring and summer runoff. Depth alone can mislead: a deep, dry snowpack can hold less water than a shallow, dense one.
The Waterline reads Sierra Nevada's snowpack from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service SNOTEL network using the standard basin-index method. It sums the current water content across the 32 SNOTEL stations inside the Sierra Nevada (hydrologic units 1605, 1802, 1803, 1804), divides by the sum of those same stations' 1991-2020 medians for the date, and reports the ratio as percent of median, so a deep high-elevation site counts for more than a shallow valley one and a station with no long-term normal never distorts the number. The inch figures shown here are the average snow water equivalent across those reporting stations.
Snow builds from about October, normally peaks near April 1, and melts out by early summer. Once the normal snowpack for the date nears zero, percent of median stops being a meaningful number, so this page reports the season's peak instead of a percentage until the snow returns.