Little snow and rain mean drought - fire danger, calls for water conservation in California FacebookTwitterEmail California’s wet season is coming to a close without a much-sought “March miracle” storm, setting the stage for a painful escalation of drought in the coming months. The April 1 snow survey, which measures the peak accumulation of snow in the Sierra and southern Cascades just before it melts, will show only about 60% of average snowpack. California relies on this snow to fill its rivers and streams, to help keep forests and grasslands from burning catastrophically, and to provide up to a third of the state’s water.