The Klamath National Forest has completed the April snow surveys. These measurements are a part of the statewide California Cooperative Snow Survey program, which helps the state forecast the amount of water available for agriculture, power generation, recreation and stream flow releases later in the year.Although the snowpack is still lower than average, a series of small to moderate snow events this month have brought the monthly measurements for April closer to normal than in March. According to measurements taken for the April survey, the snowpack is at 80% of the historic average snow height (snow depth) and at 71% of the historic Snow Water Equivalent (“SWE”, measure of water content) across all survey points (see results table).April 1st is an important date for surveying snow because early April is historically when the snowpack is at its maximum; this date has the greatest weight when the state forecasts annual water availability. To gain additional data for April, three extra locations are added to the surveys for this month to supplement the usual five Scott River watershed snow measurement sites. Of these, Etna Mountain and Box Camp are also in the Scott River drainage, and Wolford Cabin is within the Trinity River basin. These additional sites are generally considered too remote or difficult to access on a monthly basis.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Snow surveys are conducted monthly during the winter and spring months (February-May). Forest service employees travel to established sites in the headwaters of the Scott River watershed to collect information about snow accumulation in the mountains of the Klamath National Forest. The newest measuring site at Scott Mountain has been monitored for over 30 years; the oldest site at Middle Boulder has been monitored for over 70 years. Some sites are located close to forest roads with good access, while others require hours of travel by snowshoe and/or snowmobile.The height of snow and snow water equivalent are measured by a snow sampling tube with a cutter end that is driven through the snowpack, measuring depth. The snow core is then weighed to determine the water content. The information is forwarded to the state of California, where the data is compiled with other snow depth reports and becomes part of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys program. The data is managed by the California Department of Water Resources; more information is available on their website at https://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/index.html. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });