So far the snow levels are lacking depth, with a number of bare spots in the meadow where the California Department of Water Resources conducts the first media snow survey of the 2024 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada. Photo taken January 2, 2024. Fred Greaves / California Department of Water Resources

California appears to be getting shorter fall and winter seasons that are starting later in the year, according to state water experts.

The California Department of Water Resources on Tuesday released the results of its first snow survey of the year, finding the current Snow Water Equivalent (SWE), which is the amount of water that can be obtained from the snowpack, at about 25% of average.

The first snow survey of the season, conducted at Phillips Station near Lake Tahoe, recorded 7.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent at 30% average for this location.

The SWE is a key indicator of seasonal water supply levels for the state.

California’s precipitation rate of 5.3 inches of water year to date is 66% of the historical average, which is 8.1 inches.

Michael Anderson, California’s state climatologist, said that even though it is an El Nino year, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will bring more rain or snowfall.

“We need to do what we can with whatever we get and however we get it,” Anderson said.

Anderson said it is too early to determine how much water we will get from snow in 2024 with the current readings, and that they will know more after the second measurement in early February.

Both wet and dry years are possible during El Nino, and there is a lot determining variables.

However, in past years, El Nino has brought more moisture, but lower temperatures tend to lead to more rain than snowfall.

The Pacific storm system that moved over California is expected to bring cooler temperatures.

California saw one of the largest snowpacks on record last season, but the start of the water year has been dry despite some recent storms in the last weeks of December.