California snowpack is one of the deepest ever recorded

Frank Gehrke takes a sample of the snowpack near Twin Bridges, Calif.

Frank Gehrke, center, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program for the Department of Water Resources, takes a sample of the Sierra snowpack near Twin Bridges, Calif.

Frank Gehrke works with an assistant as he samples the Sierra snowpack near Twin Bridges, Calif.

Frank Gehrke takes a phone call as he returns from doing the manual snow survey at Phillips Station near Echo Summit, Calif. The survey found the snowpack’s water content at 183% of normal for this location at this time of year.

Snow falls on a meadow near the site where the Department of Water Resources conducts the snow survey near Echo Summit, Calif.