As the rest of the country has been fighting blizzards and squalls dumping 10 feet or more of snow in places, the West has been examining its snow pack and making water supply predictions.
Remarkably, while back in November and December some parts of the Northwest were receiving almost record amounts of rainfall and the snow pack seemed healthy in the mountains, January has unfortunately began to cause some concerns.
In a news release issued today, the Natural Resources Conservation Service said January’s precipitation “ranged from 27 to 71 percent of average across Oregon,” according to Jon Lea, the Snow Survey Supervisor for NRCS.
“The February 1 snow pack was 50 to 80 percent of average throughout most of the state, and Oregon streamflow and reservoir forecasts for the year so far reflect these conditions.”
The report added “many of the state’s major reservoirs could face significantly reduced spring inflows and may not fill to capacity without significant precipitation through the remainder of the water year that runs through May.”
Even if normal precipitation happens for the rest of the year, this “may still result in potential deficits in parts of the state during the coming year.” This includes east of the Cascades, and the Rogue and Umpqua Basins.
The Willamette, Columbia at the Dalles, and Deschutes summer forecasts “are near or slightly below normal,” said the press release.
Now, if only New York state could shovel some of its snow out this way…
Technorati tags: Agriculture
1 day ago
2 comments:
We New Yorkers would be delighted, excited and half past eager to send you our snow! Where do you want it and how soon can we start shipping it?
I have several ten foot drifts and lots of flats three feet deep in the stuff with your name on them.
Since you sent your note, we have begun to receive heavy snowfall in the mountains and the eastern part of Washington/Oregon in some of the places where we needed it.
Thanks!
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