The light snow flurries in the Tahoe area this week after a spell of record-setting March heatwaves across California were not enough to reverse the damage. California’s water officials gathered at Philips Station near Lake Tahoe on the first day of April to measure what is typically the winter’s peak snowpack. Instead, they found only thin, patchy snow and no measurable snow, marking the second-lowest April 1 snowpack in 75 years. … The devastating final snow survey of the season at Phillips Station aligned with a broader snow drought trend across the state, with the statewide snowpack remaining far below average at 18%.

Other California snow survey news:

• FOX40 (Sacramento, Calif.): ‘Hope is not a water management strategy’: California snowpack 2nd worst in 75 years
• ABC7 (San Francisco): California snowpack at 18% of historical average after record hot March melts Sierra snow early
• The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.): Sierra Nevada snowpack just 18% of normal — second-lowest in recorded history
• Bay City News (Berkeley, Calif.): No drought about it: Meager snowpack raises concerns, but reservoirs healthy — for now
• Courthouse News Service: California faces second-worst snowpack in decades
• Bloomberg: California drought, wildfire risks grow as snow falls short