Sierra snowpack could be a drought-buster

PHILLIPS STATION, Calif. (AP) - State water officials say December storms gave California a promising snowpack.

The Department of Water Resources says the amount of water contained in the snowpack Thursday is 90% of the Jan. 2 average.

The state surveys the snowpack manually and electronically at numerous locations to determine how much vital runoff can be expected to flow into reservoirs this spring.

The season's traditional first manual measurement at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada south of Lake Tahoe found the snowpack 97% of the January normal and 44% of the April 1 average at that location.

Three-quarters of California's annual precipitation occurs from December through February.