For the week of Dec 31, 2002 - Jan 7, 2003

Snows top averages

State still needs moisture

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

The Big Wood River is one of three drainage basins in the entire Northwest that has accumulated a greater than average snowpack for this time of year.

Using the amount of moisture retained in the snow as a measure, the Big and Little Wood basins were at 112 percent of average by Monday, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Neighboring valleys to the east, the Big and Little Lost basins, were at 101 percent of average.

A serene scene, the Big Wood River basin has already collected more than 100 percent of its average winter moisture. Express photo by Willy Cook

The only other area in the Northwest above 100 percent of average Monday morning was Oregon’s Rogue and Umpqua basins, which combined at 117 percent of average.

But a lot more moisture is needed, probably for consecutive years, to ease the impacts from a multi-year drought that has scorched large parts of the West, said Dick Larson, Idaho Department of Water Resources public information officer.

Mother Nature needs to dump 120 percent of normal for Idaho to have an average irrigation supply.

"We’re still a long ways from being out of the woods," Larson said. "When you look across the southern part of the state, it’s not looking good at all."

Most of the Northwest’s rivers were hovering between 40 and 75 percent of average Monday, including Idaho’s irrigation powerhouse, the Snake River and its tributaries.

According to Natural Resources Conservation Service water supply specialist Ron Abramovich, dry soil will absorb between 3 and 5 inches of snow this spring, increasing the need for wet weather.

November, December and January are typically the high-moisture months when most of the snow pack builds up. Abramovich said it would be easier to predict the summer’s water flow after Feb. 1.

Northern Idaho is the furthest behind. The Panhandle region and Clearwater drainage are about 50 percent of average.

But other Idaho basins heavily used for irrigation and recreation were experiencing deepening snows. The Payette and Boise river basins, both in central Idaho, were nearing 100 percent Monday.

And more significant snows were forecast last night and throughout the week, as wet Pacific storms continued to march inland.

"This last round of storms was just a God-send," Larson said. "Let’s just hope the storms stay lined up for the next three months. It might raise hell with the people who don’t like to shovel snow, but, boy, do we need these storms."

 

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