California snowpack
Live SNOTEL readings, fresh snowfall, snow-water content, and 5-day forecasts at every monitored peak in California. Sourced from USDA NRCS and NOAA NOHRSC.
The California snowpack is monitored by the USDA NRCS SNOTEL network — automated stations sitting on the mountain that report snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and air temperature every hour. Snoflo joins those live readings to a 5-day NOAA forecast for each station so you can see what's on the ground and what's coming.
Use the SNOTEL inventory below to find the closest station to where you're headed. Percent of normal tells you how today's snowpack compares to the historical average for the same date — below 70% is drought-stressed; above 130% is a fat year. Snow water content (SWC) indicates how wet and dense the snowpack is — useful for water-supply planning and avalanche stability assessment.
For backcountry travel always cross-reference with your regional avalanche center at avalanche.org.
State-wide snowpack overview
Today's standouts across the California SNOTEL network -- the deepest snowpack, coldest mountain, biggest expected snowfall, and how the state sits versus normal.
Percent of normal
100% is the historical norm for today's date. Below 70% is drought-stressed; above 130% is a fat year.
Deepest snowpack
vs 123" seasonal average
Coldest station
Elevation 10,292 ft
Biggest 5-day forecast
Expected fresh snow over the next 5 days
California snowpack monitoring sites
Every SNOTEL station Snoflo tracks in California. Sortable, quickly filterable. Numeric columns heat-mapped from light to deep. Tap any station for its full history.
| Snowpack monitoring site | Snowpack (in) | Snowfall (in) | 24hr fcst (in) | Next 72hrs (in) | Temp (°F) | % Normal | SWC (%) | Watershed | Elevation (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adin Mtn, Ca
Site 301 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 26% | · | Upper Pit | 6,190 |
|
Blue Lakes, Ca
Site 356 |
1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 10% | 260% | Upper Mokelumne | 8,057 |
|
Burnside Lake, Ca
Site 1051 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 3% | · | Upper Carson | 8,129 |
|
Cedar Pass, Ca
Site 391 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 5% | 10% | Upper Pit | 7,030 |
|
Css Lab, Ca
Site 428 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 3% | · | Upper Yuba | 6,855 |
|
Forestdale Creek, Ca
Site 1049 |
5 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 17% | 82% | Upper Carson | 8,017 |
|
Independence Lake, Ca
Site 541 |
39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 48% | 47% | Truckee | 8,352 |
|
Leavitt Lake, Ca
Site 574 |
79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 69% | 52% | West Walker | 9,617 |
|
Poison Flat, Ca
Site 697 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 10% | 5% | Upper Carson | 7,736 |
|
Sonora Pass, Ca
Site 771 |
10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 39% | 35% | West Walker | 8,827 |
|
State Line , Ca
Site 1258 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | % | · | Lost | 5,680 |
|
Virginia Lakes Ridge, Ca
Site 846 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 13% | 25% | East Walker | 9,445 |
|
Nohrsc Adin Mtn, Ca
Site ADMC1 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 56% | 5% | Upper Pit | 6,196 |
|
Blackcap Basin Goes, Ca
Site BCBC1 |
26 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 49% | 60% | Upper King | 10,292 |
|
Nohrsc Burnside Lake, Ca
Site BSKC1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 11% | 10% | Upper Carson | 8,180 |
|
Nohrsc Cedar Pass, Ca
Site CDRC1 |
1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 9% | 10% | Upper Pit | 7,075 |
|
Nohrsc Css Lab, Ca
Site CSSC1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 7% | · | Upper Yuba | 6,898 |
|
Nohrsc Deadman Ck Near Kennedy Meadows - Sonora Pass, Ca
Site DDMC1 |
13 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 38% | 38% | Upper Stanislaus | 9,325 |
|
Nohrsc Forestdale Creek, Ca
Site FDCC1 |
3 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 18% | 83% | Upper Carson | 8,049 |
|
Nohrsc Forni Ridge, Ca
Site FOIC1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 14% | 12% | South Fork American | 7,544 |
|
Nohrsc Green Mtn, Ca
Site GRMC1 |
3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 127% | · | Upper San Joaquin | 7,902 |
|
Nohrsc Hagan's Meadow Snotel, Ca
Site HGNC1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 50% | 10% | Lake Tahoe | 7,790 |
|
Highlands Lakes, Ca
Site HIGC1 |
21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 78% | · | Trinity | 5,920 |
|
Huntington Lake, Ca
Site HNTC1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 2% | 66% | Upper San Joaquin | 7,062 |
|
Nohrsc Horse Meadows, Ca
Site HRSC1 |
22 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 61% | 24% | Upper Tuolumne | 8,607 |
|
Nohrsc Independence Lake, Ca
Site ILKC1 |
37 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 51% | 48% | Truckee | 8,361 |
|
Nohrsc Lower Kibbie, Ca
Site KIBC1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 65% | · | Upper Tuolumne | 6,672 |
|
Nohrsc Kaiser Point, Ca
Site KSPC1 |
1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 7% | 12% | Upper San Joaquin | 9,194 |
|
Nohrsc Leavitt Lake, Ca
Site LELC1 |
77 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 79% | 52% | West Walker | 9,604 |
|
Lost Lake Snotel, Ca
Site LLXC1 |
55 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 91% | 51% | Upper Mokelumne | 8,679 |
|
Nohrsc Mammoth Pass, Ca
Site MAMC1 |
15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 9% | 5% | Upper San Joaquin | 9,400 |
|
Nohrsc Mt Rose Ski Area, Ca
Site MRSN2 |
27 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 58% | 43% | Truckee | 8,817 |
|
Nohrsc Peterson Flat, Ca
Site PTFC1 |
73 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 131% | · | Trinity | 6,373 |
|
Nohrsc Rock Creek, Ca
Site RCKC1 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | % | 4% | Crowley Lake | 9,715 |
|
Nohrsc Silver Lake (Goes), Ca
Site SILC1 |
33 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 81 | 66% | 3% | South Fork American | 7,200 |
|
Nohrsc Spratt Creek, Ca
Site SPCC1 |
1 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 83 | % | · | Upper Carson | 6,104 |
|
Nohrsc Palisades Tahoe, Ca
Site SQWC1 |
1 | -4 | 0 | 3 | 73 | 5% | 10% | Truckee | 7,961 |
|
Nohrsc Sonora Pass, Ca
Site SRAC1 |
10 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 48% | 35% | West Walker | 8,777 |
|
Stouts Meadow Goes, Ca
Site STMC1 |
93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 262% | 39% | Mccloud | 5,297 |
|
Nohrsc 20h01 - State Line Am (Ca), Ca
Site TATC1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | % | · | Lost | 5,694 |
|
Nohrsc Tioga Pass-Dana Meadows, Ca
Site TIOC1 |
30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 111% | 8% | Upper Tuolumne | 9,817 |
|
Nohrsc Tuolumne Meadows, Ca
Site TUMC1 |
123 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 120% | 1% | Upper Tuolumne | 8,640 |
|
Nohrsc Virginia Lakes Ridge, Ca
Site VGAC1 |
2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 13% | 25% | East Walker | 9,433 |
|
Nohrsc Poison Flat, Ca
Site XXXC1 |
3 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 171% | 3% | Upper Carson | 7,770 |
California ski-area meteograms
Per-resort interactive weather forecasts for the next 15 days — temperature curve, precipitation bars, weather symbols, and humidity at every California ski area Snoflo tracks.
-
Alpine Meadows Ski Area
→
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Alta Sierra At Shirley Meadows
→
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Badger Pass Ski Area
→
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Bear Mountain
→
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Bear Mountain Resort
→
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Bear Valley Mountain Resort
→
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Boreal Mountain Resort
→
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Buckhorn Ski Club
→
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Cuyamaca Peak
→
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Dodge Ridge Ski Area
→
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Donner Ski Ranch
→
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Granlibakken Ski Resort
→
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Homewood Mountain Resort
→
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June Mountain
→
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Kirkwood
→
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Mammoth Mountain
→
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Mount Baldy
→
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Mountain High Resort
→
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Mt. Baldy Ski Lifts
→
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Mt. Waterman
→
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Northstar
→
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Sierra At Tahoe
→
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Snow Summit Mountain Resort
→
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Snow Valley Ski Resort
→
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Soda Springs
→
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Squaw Valley
→
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Sugar Bowl Resort
→
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Sunrise
→
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Tahoe Donner
→
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Trinity Mountain Resort
→
About California snowpack
Where does the California snowpack data come from?
The USDA NRCS SNOTEL network (SNOpack TELemetry) -- automated mountain stations that continuously measure snow depth, snow water equivalent, precipitation, and air temperature. Snoflo aggregates the live readings and joins them to a 5-day NOAA forecast for each station.
What is Snow Water Equivalent (SWE)?
The depth of water you'd get if you melted the entire snowpack. A 30-inch snowpack with 8 inches of SWE is wetter and denser than one with 5 inches -- useful for water-supply forecasting and avalanche assessment. The "SWC %" column shows the ratio.
What does Percent Normal mean?
Current snowpack as a percentage of the historical average for the same date at that station. 100% is right at the historical norm. Below 70% indicates drought-stressed snowpack; above 130% is a fat year.
How fresh is the California data?
SNOTEL stations transmit hourly; Snoflo re-pulls throughout the day. The 5-day forecasts regenerate from NOAA NOHRSC analysis fields and NWS forecast guidance.
Why are SNOTEL stations only in some states?
The NRCS SNOTEL network is concentrated in the western mountain U.S. -- where the snowpack drives federal water supply forecasts for irrigation, hydropower, and municipal water. Eastern snowpack is measured by other networks (CoCoRaHS, NWS) which Snoflo includes elsewhere.
Is this a substitute for the local avalanche center?
No. For backcountry travel always consult your regional avalanche forecast at avalanche.org. Snoflo is informational data only.