(Grass Valley, March 7, 2025) A cold, wet February delivered double the average amount of snow and rain for the month. As a result, the snowpack has increased on Nevada Irrigation District (NID) upper watersheds, and the water content in the snow is just about normal for this time of year, according to the District’s March survey.

NID hydrographers conducted the second snow survey of the year on Feb. 26-27; their measurements taken on five courses found the water content to be 96 percent of average. 

“Significant precipitation in February made up for the dry January we experienced, bringing seasonal totals back above average,” said NID’s Water Resource Superintendent Thor Larsen. “Snowpack conditions also improved from last month and are close to average as we head into March.”

He noted that in February the five snow courses received 21.23 inches of precipitation, which is 200 percent of average for the month.

Snow survey results

NID hydrographers conduct three official snow surveys each year in February, March and April. Measurements are taken on five snow courses at varying elevations to get a good overview of the amount of snow in the watersheds that provide the District with water. Results of the snow surveys are used to predict water availability locally and statewide.

Here are the measurements from the February snow survey:

• NID’s highest course, Webber Peak, at 7,800 feet, had 93.3 inches of snow with a water content of 36.4 inches (survey taken on Feb. 26)
• English Mountain snow course (7,100 ft.) had 81.9 inches of snow with a water content of 34.3 inches (survey taken on Feb. 27)
• Webber Lake (7,000 ft.) had 75.4 inches of snow with a water content of 27.2 inches (survey taken on Feb. 26)
• Findley Peak (6,500 ft.) had a snowpack of 58.1 inches with a water content of 22.1 inches (survey taken on Feb. 26)
• Bowman Reservoir (5,650 ft.) had 32 inches of snow with a water content of 14.4 inches (survey taken on Feb. 26)
• At the lower Chalk Bluff snow course (4,850 ft.) on the Deer Creek watershed, no snow was present, as of Feb. 27 (the Chalk Bluff numbers are not included in the total average).

The average of water content of the snow was 26.9 inches, which was 96 percent of average. The snow water equivalent is an indicator of how much water the snowpack contains. This helps water managers plan for water use.

Notably, for the season, precipitation at Bowman was 54.31 inches as of March 5. That’s 109 percent of average

Water storage is in good shape

In other measurements, District reservoir storage is above average with 247,626 acre-feet on March 5, 2025. That is 92 percent of capacity, which is 117 percent of average for the date.

Track NID river and reservoir data, click here.