Oregon’s Snowpack Remains Well Below Normal

The Northwest saw several systems roll in from the Pacific to wrap up 2025.  What sort of impact did those systems have on the snowpack across Oregon?

Unfortunately, Matt Warbritton with NRCS said the snowpack really hasn’t changed much, remaining well below normal.

"And if we look at the snow water equivalent or the amount of water that's being stored in the snowpack, it's at one of the lowest points that we have on record for statewide," he said.  "So pretty poor snowpack.”

Oregon's Snowpack Has Yet To Develop

Currently of the 12 basins across the state, only two are above 50% of typical snow for this time of year.  And those two, the Malheur and the Imnaha both in eastern Oregon, are just a few percentage points above 50.

While Warbritton says it’s not quite time to panic, he is getting very concerned.

“And certainly, as we proceed further into the winter, we can still see, one or two strong storm cycles that really fill in that deficit gap," Warbritton said.  "And we've seen that historically some years. In some years, that doesn't happen. So, the further we get into the season, the more reliant we are on larger storms to really fill that deficit gap as opposed to multiple storms scattered throughout the season to consistently build snowpack.”

Precipitation Is The One Bright Spot From This Winter

When it comes to overall precipitation numbers, Warbritton pointed out that many basins statewide are close to normal for this time of year.  The notable exceptions are Central Oregon and Southwestern Oregon.

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