Photo: NWS Photo: DWR Photo: DWR Photo: NWS

The National Weather Service office in Sacramento shared an image on Twitter that puts this year's dwindling snow pack in perspective.

The composite shows a satellite photo of the Sierra Nevada last year blanketed in snow compared to this year with shockingly little snow.

"What a difference a year makes!" the NWS tweeted.

Last year, California was slammed with fierce storms through the winter. As a result, the snow pack was well above average on Feb. 18, 2019, measuring 146 percent of normal. This year, California is seeing a prolonged dry spell in February as a high pressure ridge is stretched along the eastern Pacific Ocean and blocking storm activity. The snow pack is currently 58 percent below normal.

While the Sierra Nevada saw a dusting of snow with a couple inches at higher elevations on Feb. 5, the last major snow storm was Jan. 16 to 17 when the full length of the mountain range saw one to two feet above 6,000 feet.

"There hasn't been anything significant since then," said Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the NWS Sacramento office. "It’s pretty unusual that I have to go and look way back in the record book for a storm in winter. Usually, there are lots of fresh storms."

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Shoemaker said there's no sign of heavy snowfall in the next week. "We have a weak system coming in this weekend, but we’re not expecting much of any snow with it," he said. "We are expecting a dusting on Sunday. Maybe an inch or two at the higher elevations, well above 6,000 feet. Although this system is trending drier, so there’s no sure thing."

The Sierra snow pack is one of California's most important water sources, with its spring and summer runoff feeding rivers and reservoirs, watering crops, filling bathtubs and water glasses. Mountain snow pack provides about 30 percent of the yearly fresh water supply for California.

The good news is that while this year's snow pack is puny, the state's reservoirs are still full, with water levels near normal, due to last year's storm-filled winter. The state's largest reservoir, Shasta, is at 110 percent of normal.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her weather tips and photos at agraff@sfgate.com.