Bare ground: Oregon snowpack up to 90 percent below normal

The past month has continued the trend for record-low snowpack throughout Oregon and well below-normal streamflows forecasted for the summer, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service reported Friday.

“The winter of 2015 will go down in Oregon’s history books as the year that was dominated by bare ground in the mountains,” said Julie Koeberle, NRCS hydrologist.

As of May 1, the statewide snowpack was at 11 percent of normal, and only 15 out of 112 snow monitoring stations had any snow left at all.

Throughout the winter, Oregon’s snowpack was confined to the highest of elevations and was well below normal across the entire state.

Sixty percent of the long-term snowpack monitoring sites set records for the lowest peak snowpack levels, as well as the earliest peak dates, since measurements began more than 30 years ago.

One-third of the snow measurement sites in the state didn’t receive enough snow to build a seasonal snowpack this year at all.

“Because the snowpack levels peaked well below normal across the state, there is a mountain snowpack deficit that amounts to several feet of frozen water that would typically be stored in the snowpack, but is not present this year,” Koeberle said.

“Oregon’s streams and rivers that depend on this snowpack for summer flows will be significantly lower than normal this year.” she said.

Most of Oregon is included in the moderate to severe drought category for this summer, and southeast Oregon is in the extreme drought category, according to the National Drought Monitor: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.

“This means that there will likely be water shortages this summer; especially for water users that depend on streamflow that is not tied to a reservoir,” Koeberle said. “Water users should brace for a dry and hot summer, with limited water supplies.”

As of May 1, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a drought state of emergency for the following counties, with more likely to follow: Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Harney, Crook, Baker, and Wheeler.

NRCS encourages farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to consider conservation practices to improve the productivity of their land during drought. Landowners are also encouraged to contact a local USDA Service Center for more information about conservation practices and options for NRCS assistance.

The NRCS Snow Survey is the federal program that measures snow and provides streamflow forecasts and snowpack data for communities, water managers and recreationalists across the West.

In Oregon, snow measurements are collected from 81 SNOTEL sites, 42 manually measured snow courses, and 26 aerial markers. Water and snowpack information for all SNOTEL sites nationwide are available on the Snow Survey website in a variety of formats. The reports are updated every hour and are available at: www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/snow