Little Change Expected For Idaho’s Snowpack In Coming Days

The snowpack across Idaho has been a bit of a rollercoaster this year.  Erin Whorton with NRCS said the state saw really good snow accumulation in November and then again around the holidays, but since then things have been fairly quiet.  When it comes to the basins across Idaho, Whorton said things are looking good.  She said the only concern right now is the eastern part of Idaho and the upper Snake.

“Reservoir storage is really good in that area and reservoir storage is accruing faster than average in that area, but they still need a good snowpack to provide adequate water supply in that area. That area, the stream flow forecast for Heise was only 76% of normal in January. And so, we'd like to see it above normal, and so they're going to need more snow to make that happen.”

Latest figures show the Little Wood, Big Lost, Little Lost, Birch, Henrys Fork and Snake River are all below normal for this time of year, with several basins below 75% of average.

The weather pattern over the next week is expected to be sunny and dry, which means no addition to the snowpack.  But Whorton said the news isn’t all negative.

“Freezing levels are supposed to be very low, we're expecting very cold temperatures across Idaho.  So we're not going to see any snow packed melting. Just not going to see any snowpack accumulating in the next seven days.”

Whorton also pointed out that the state typically receives a lot of snow February into March.

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