Sierra Snowpack Below Average Despite Early-Season Storms

State water officials conducted their first direct eyeball assessment of the Sierra Nevada snowpack on Tuesday -- and what they found might be a little counterintuitive if you've been watching rain gauges just about anywhere in California's lower elevations. It's only recently that the storms coming off the Pacific have turned cold enough to start building up the snowpack, which still stands at just above 70 percent of the average for this date.