The Sierra snowpack is nearly double its normal level this time of year. Monday's final manual snowpack survey of the season at Phillips Station off Highway 50 measured more than 49-inches of snow, which is 190-percent of average. It is 196-percent of average when counting all 91 data stations statewide. But the snow is melting fast as the weather heats up, creating worries about potential flooding downstream.
The measurement comes well into spring, when the weather warms and snow melts, rushing downhill into canals and reservoirs.
Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expect the Merced River in Yosemite National Park to go about a foot over its banks on Wednesday.
The mountain snow provides roughly a third of California's water supplies.