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The Sierra snowpack this spring is just 42 percent of normal, its lowest since 1990, according to California Department of Water Resources.
"If next winter is similar (to this one), then we could be looking at some tight times," said Frank Gehrke, the snow survey chief, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
The snowpack in the Sierra provides most of the fresh water for California's rivers, which in turn provide most of the water to the state's water reservoirs.
Runoff from the last two winters, both near-record snowfall years, has been enough to avert a water crisis for this year, but officials said back-to-back winters like this past one would pose problems.
In the same Chronicle story, Water Resources technician Dave Hart said the snowpack actually dropped in March, traditionally one of the snowiest months.
"Usually we gain snow in March, say four or five inches," said Hart. "But this was an unusual year, because we lost snow in March -- about eight inches," Hart said.
Gehrke said this winter's snowpack ranks among the bottom 25 percent since such surveys began in 1930.
Locally, the snowpack is 43 percent of normal at Tioga Pass, 46 percent of normal at Saddlebag Lake, 55 percent of normal at Ellery Lake and 44 percent of normal on the Virginia Lakes ridge.
The Northern Sierra had the most snow, but it still measured just 59 percent of normal levels, according to the Water Resources Department Web site.
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