Abstract In this paper, we seek to understand how useful the Western United States Dynamically Downscaled Data set (WUS‐D3) is to water managers in California, as well as how climate change will impact the state’s water resources. We analyze intrannual snowpack water storage skill of this data set over the southern Sierra Nevada, and project future changes in timing and magnitude of snowpack water storage over this region. We find that WUS‐D3 downscaled climate models are skillful at capturing peak SWE timing, but overestimate peak SWE and melt date. The model ensemble projects diminished peak SWE and earlier, shorter snowmelt seasons. Further improvements in intrannual skill of these data would be useful to water managers. Altered timing and magnitude of southern Sierra snowpack water storage will have impacts in that region and throughout California, indicating that we must accelerate climate change adaptation planning.

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