Mountain snow is a reservoir that fills in winter and empties all summer. On April 1, 2026, the northern Sierra Nevada held just 7% of its normal snow.
On April 1, 2026, snowpack in the northern Sierra Nevada was at 7% of normal. The central Sierra was at 25%, the southern Sierra at 39%.
Basis: U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Hydropower generation expected to recover despite snow drought in the West” (April 14, 2026)
Snow works like a natural reservoir: it stores winter water and releases it slowly as it melts, which is why forecasters use snowpack to predict summer hydropower.
Basis: Same EIA article (snowpack functions as natural storage and is a key predictor)
And yet U.S. hydropower is forecast to rise — 259 billion kWh in 2026, up 5% from 2025. That would be 6% of all U.S. electricity, though still 1.8% below the 10-year average.
Basis: Same EIA article (national and regional forecasts)
California is the exception in both directions: forecast down 6% from last year, yet still 15% above its own 10-year average. Its two biggest reservoirs, Shasta and Oroville, sat at 114% and 124% of their usual April levels — full, even with the mountains bare.
Basis: Same EIA article
A dry Sierra with full reservoirs and rising national hydropower is a good reminder that “the West” is not one place, and that snow is only one of the things that fills a dam. Rain, last year's water still in storage, and where the dams happen to be all matter too.
※ A hypothesis is an idea that isn't proven yet.
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