Snowpack
Snow season overSierra Nevada snowpack
Basin snow water equivalent vs the 1991-2020 median, 32 SNOTEL stations
Data through Oct 28, 2026 · source last checked Oct 30, 2026 · page revised Oct 29, 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 22, 2026. The 2028 snow year begins October 1.
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 0.0 in of snow water equivalent on Oct 22, 2026, ending the snow year. Water-year precipitation to date is 0.8 in, running 59% of the 1991-2020 median.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| This season's peak (SWE) | 0.0 in on Oct 22, 2026 |
| Percent of median at last snow reading | 0% (Jun 22, 2026) |
| Water-year precipitation to date | 0.8 in (59% of median) |
Previous weeks
An earlier week
Sierra Nevada snowpack peaked at 0.0 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 22, 2026. Current readings stand at trace amounts as the snow year closes. Water-year precipitation to date is 0.8 in, 63% of the 1991-2020 median.
An earlier week
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 0.0 in of snow water equivalent on Oct 22 and ended with no meaningful carryover. Water-year precipitation stands at 0.8 in through Oct 26, 68% of the 1991-2020 median.
Week of Oct 25, 2026
Sierra Nevada's snowpack peaked at 0.0 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 22. Water-year precipitation through Oct 25 totals 0.8 in, 72% of the 1991-2020 median.
An earlier week
Sierra Nevada snowpack peaked at 0.2 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 23, 2026, then retreated to 0.16 in by Oct 24. Water-year precipitation to date is 0.8 in, 78% of the 1991-2020 median.
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.