Oregon’s mid-winter snowpack still strong
Oregon’s mountain snowpack remains at normal to above-normal levels and continues to surpass last year’s peak levels, according to the February Water Supply Outlook Report released Friday by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Friday’s statewide average snowpack is 121 percent of normal, they said.
Portions of southeastern Oregon are experiencing the highest snowpack levels due to above-normal precipitation that fell as snow throughout January.
The Owyhee Basin in Malheur County measures the highest in the state for snow water equivalent, at 153 percent of normal. Snow water equivalent is the amount of water that is stored inside the snowpack.
In Western Oregon, snowpack is closer to normal in the Mt. Hood and Willamette Basins, but the Rogue/Umpqua Basin is well above normal at 139 percent.
Storms continued to blanket Oregon’s mountains with snow in January. The mountain temperatures for February and March will determine whether mountain precipitation continues to fall as snow or rain, which will have a large impact on the summer water supply picture,, officials said.
“With about half of the snow season left, we are still hopeful that the current trends of precipitation and snowpack continue through the spring,” said Scott Oviatt, NRCS Oregon snow survey supervisor. “In Eastern Oregon, we are seeing well-above normal snow levels that are not typically met until springtime.”
According to the February report, streamflow forecasts call for near-average to well-above-average volumes for the summer water supply season. Some of the highest forecasts are in southeastern Oregon. However, hydrologists continue to caution that it’s still early in the snowpack accumulation season, and summer projections are likely to change.
“Each month that we receive normal or above-normal amounts of snow and precipitation, that will boost the probability that snowmelt runoff will help alleviate the impacts of long-term drought and sustain river and stream flows throughout the summer,” Oviatt said.
