Oregon snowpack fails again to reach normal standard

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s snowpack is below normal again as data show the state reaching historically normal levels less often.

The Statesman Journal reports the Natural Resources Conservation Service shows the state’s snow-water equivalent in the mountains is 72 percent of normal, with the number lower in western Oregon.

According to data, the state has reached a normal snowpack level in four of the last 10 years.

Oregon State University climate scientist Kathie Dello says the normal standard is shifting, but people have grown accustomed to bad or below-average years.

The normal standard is based on historical snowpack data from 1981 to 2010. The standard will be updated in 2020 to take into account data over the prior decade.

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Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com