Oregon snowpack holds steady, despite drier March
Despite drier than normal weather throughout the month of March, mountain snowpack across Oregon remains near normal, or in some cases above normal, according to the April Water Supply Outlook Report released Friday by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Here’s the NRCS news release summarizing the report:
The first part of March experienced continued snowfall In the mountains, with lingering cool temperatures. Mid- and late month brought more spring-like weather (sunny with unseasonably warm temperatures), initiating the season’s first rounds of snowmelt to the mid and lower elevations. While March brought below average amounts of precipitation to most of the state, the snow surplus gained in February made up for the lack of March storms.
Most of the state has received a nearly average amount of precipitation since the water year in October, with exceptions in northwest Oregon and parts of central Oregon. Once again, February’s copious precipitation made up for other months that were drier than usual during this snow season.
Many streams and rivers are expected to flow at normal to above normal levels for the spring and summer. The exceptions are rivers in northwest Oregon and the Upper Deschutes Basin.
“While the April forecast is showing near normal to above normal streamflow into the coming months, the timing of it remains uncertain,” said Scott Oviatt, NRCS snow survey supervisory hydrologist. “If warm and dry conditions or rapid snowmelt occur in the near term, streamflows could peak early and result in lower snowmelt-driven flows later in the summer.”
Due to unusual amounts of snow in many parts of the state, rapid snowmelt or heavy rainfall and snowmelt could lead to possible flooding.
Get specific data about basins in your community by viewing the full report online.
About snow survey
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 is 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 .
NRCS publishes six monthly Oregon Water Supply Outlook Reports between Jan. 1 and June 1 every year. To regularly receive this information as an email announcement, visit the Oregon NRCS Snow Survey website and click the “email updates ” icon to subscribe.
