SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is set to conduct the first snow survey of 2020 on Thursday.

The DWR snow survey is a chance for officials to measure the water content in the snowpack. Data collected from the monthly snow surveys will help determine the amount of water that will melt and run off to state reservoirs during warmer months. The information is critical to the water managers who allocate California’s natural water resources to regions downstream.

On Thursday officials will meet at the Phillips Station in Sierra Nevada, one of 260 snow courses across the Sierra Nevada that the DWR manually or electronically measures each winter and early spring.