Expecting to find nothing but damp ground, the state Department of Water Resources Thursday announced it was canceling its monthly snow survey at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada range.
The monthly survey, a key measure used to extrapolate the amount of summer snow melt for water managers, was scheduled to be held Friday.
The last monthly survey, conducted April 1, turned up barren ground, a potent image employed by Gov. Jerry Brown to encourage water conservation.
It was the first time no snow was found on April 1 since surveys began at the site in 1941. The state’s snowpack typically peaks in early April.