Frank Gehrke, an employee of the California Department of Water Resources who conducts the manual snow surveys, is shown at the Phillips survey site where snowpack is only 3 percent of the average. (Photo by The Mercury News)
Heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevadas at this time a year ago officially brought California out of its years-long drought. Officials warned that one wet season was only a small step toward recovery, and the reason for that warning could be seen recently with the first 2018 surveys...
