Sierra snow below average

RENO -- March brought few storms and little snow to the Sierra, leaving the snowpack below average to date, officials said.

Though spring storms could still add to the snow totals, April typically signals an end to the peak snow season.

As of Tuesday, the snowpack in the Lake Tahoe basin was 87 percent of average for the date, according to the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service's automated SNOTEL system.

The snowpack was 85 percent of average in the Truckee River basin, and 84 percent in the Carson River basin.

The numbers are still better than last year, when April arrived with a Sierra snowpack at less than half of what it should be.