The water in California’s mountain snowpack is just shy of average as spring begins, and a winter storm coming to the Sierra Nevada should offer a boost.
The statewide snowpack measured 90% of average on Friday, just ahead of the anticipated April 1 peak before the sun begins melting the snow faster than it can accumulate, sending water flowing into creeks and streams as storms taper off into the spring, said Andy Reising, manager of the Department of Water Resources’ snow surveys and water supply forecasting unit.
“Ninety percent is really pretty good. I'm feeling generally positive,” Reising told reporters as snow fell at Phillips Station in the mountains in the eastern part of the state, one of more than 250 sites where measurements were taken.
The news comes as more storms are expected to dump precipitation on Northern California early next week, which prompted officials to bump up the snow survey to avoid traveling during hazardous conditions. It also comes as nearly all of California's reservoirs are above their historic capacity after two wet winters followed a punishing drought that forced severe cutbacks in water usage in cities and on farms.
State officials said they will provide a survey update next week after the storm.
The snowpack provides about a third of the water used each year in California, which is home to 39 million people and grows much of the country's fresh fruit and vegetables. The state has built a complex system of canals and dams to capture and store the water in reservoirs for the hot, dry months when it doesn’t rain or snow.
While the northern and central parts of the state are flush with water, Reising cautioned that Southern California, including Los Angeles, has received far less precipitation than usual. Most of Southern California is once again in moderate to extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“We know floods and droughts can happen at any time. It is the California way of life to expect that,” Reising said.
At Phillips Station, officials recorded a snow depth of 39.5 inches (100 centimeters) and a water content of 17 inches (43 centimeters), which is 70% of average for the location, he said.
The Trump administration has taken a keen interest in California’s water situation, vowing to send more water through a federally-run network to the state’s farmers and reserve less for environmental interests. He’s blasted the state for what he calls poor water management, and blamed the state’s environmental policies for water challenges during the Los Angeles wildfires, though the two weren’t connected.
This year, California's State Water Project allocations are currently at 40% of requested supplies, similar to last year. The Project provides water to 27 million people and 750,000 acres (303,514 hectares) of farmland, and allocations vary considerably during wet and dry years.
Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors, said she thinks California officials could have released more water this year and wants to see more nimble decision-making in response to rapidly changing conditions.
“We do have this mismatch between hydrology and the allocation, and what are the different physical and policy changes that need to be made to address that,” Pierre said.
Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, said the state's major reservoirs are in good shape but California farmers will always want more water than the environment can provide.
“We should never let a good water year let us become complacent,” Gleick said. “We never have enough water to waste.”
FILE - In this photo provided by the California Department of Water Resources, engineer Anthony Burdock, left, and forecasting chief Sean de Guzman work the measurement phase of the first media snow survey of the season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (Kenneth James/California Department of Water Resources via AP, file)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Rori Harmon put her hands on her knees and bowed her head as the clock wound down. The Texas senior guard doesn't like crying, but she gave herself a moment to reflect on the past 10 months.
This time last year, Harmon was sidelined by a knee injury. She could only watch as the Longhorns were eliminated in the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament.
It came full circle Monday night. Madison Booker scored 18 points, Harmon added 13 and No. 1 seed Texas used its stifling defense to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2003, beating well-traveled point guard Hailey Van Lith and second-seeded TCU 58-47.
“Just to see us get to the Final Four after recovering and coming back from my ACL injury in 10 months,” Harmon said, “I thought it was an amazing thing, and I was just really proud of myself in that moment.”
The Longhorns (35-3) will face defending champion South Carolina on Friday night in Tampa, Florida, for a spot in the national title game.
Texas won a regional final for the first time in four tries under coach Vic Schaefer, who previously made two Final Four trips with Mississippi State. The Longhorns' 35 wins are one more than its only national title-winning squad had in 1986 under Jody Conradt, who was in the stands Monday night and led Texas to its three previous Final Fours.
Van Lith scored 17 points for TCU (34-4) in her collegiate finale, but Texas neutralized the Horned Frogs' star center, Sedona Prince, who had four points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 6:32 left.
Harmon guarded Van Lith most of the night.
“That to me is vintage Rori,” Schaefer said. “She embraces the defensive challenge. She loves it. She eats it for breakfast.”
TCU had never made it past the second round of March Madness, but Van Lith helped the Horned Frogs make program history while taking her third school to the Elite Eight.
Booker, Texas' offensive dynamo, scored 14 points in the second half. Harmon had 11 in the first half.
Nothing came easy for the Horned Frogs' high-scoring trio of Van Lith, Prince and Madison Conner. Van Lith shot 3 of 15 from the field but made 10 of 11 free throws. The 6-foot-7 Prince attempted only four shots, and Conner scored nine points.
Prince, whose career started with Texas in 2018, said the Longhorns' post players did a good job scouting her. But she also felt that Texas was in her head. She never played for the Longhorns, leaving the program for Oregon in 2019 after breaking her leg playing for USA Basketball.
“I thought that we had to win to prove it to them that they couldn’t beat me,” Prince said. “But being part of this program, being here and succeeding ... it doesn’t matter.”
The Longhorns forced 21 turnovers and had nine steals and six blocks, but they didn't pull away until center Kyla Oldacre intercepted Van Lith’s pass and went coast-to-coast early in the fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-6 Oldacre was fouled by Prince and made the free throw, energizing the Longhorns and the announced crowd of 12,175 that made the trip to Alabama. The three-point play put Texas ahead by double digits for the first time.
After falling behind by 14, TCU pulled within six with 2:42 remaining on four straight points from forward Deasia Merrill. Consecutive jumpers from Booker and Harmon put the Longhorns back up by 10, and the Horned Frogs never got any closer.
Harmon had two steals in the first seven minutes as the Longhorns held the Horned Frogs to just nine points in the opening quarter. The Longhorns went up by nine before TCU closed the second quarter on a 7-0 run that made it 23-21 at the half.
Oldacre scored nine points, all in the second half, to help Texas outscore TCU 35-26 after the break.
This was the 57th meeting of the former Big 12 foes and first in the NCAA Tournament. Texas moved to the Southeastern Conference this season, went 15-1 against the SEC in the regular season, captured the regular-season title and had the SEC player of the year in Booker.
The Longhorns stuck with what’s worked for them all season. They don’t attempt many 3-pointers, and they wear teams out with the frontcourt rotation of Oldacre and 6-4 Taylor Jones.
Jones had seven points and six rebounds for Texas, which outscored TCU 24-8 in the paint.
Texas’ win put three No. 1 seeds in the Final Four, along with South Carolina and top overall seed UCLA. The Gamecocks edged second-seeded Duke on Sunday to move two wins away from repeating as champs. The Bruins dispatched Flaujae Johnson and No. 3 seed LSU behind 17 points from standout center Lauren Betts.
The top seeds will be joined by Paige Bueckers and No. 2 seed UConn, who beat No. 1 seed Southern California in Monday night's other semifinal.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer and players celebrate with the trophy after they defeated TCU in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer and players celebrate with the trophy after they defeated TCU in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
