Oviatt: Recent Snow Showers Too Little Too Late

While the region enjoyed a surprising spring snowstorm Sunday and Monday, according to Scott Oviatt with NRCS Oregon, that system won’t have much of an impact on the snowpacks across the state. Oviatt said just before the storm rolled in, the statewide snowpack sat at 59% of average. Oviatt said while April 1^st is typically when snowpacks across the state peak for the season, he noted most Oregon basins hit their high mark back in mid-January, thanks to a warm and dry pattern that dominated February, March and early April. He said the weekend snow is just too little, too late.

“We’re already in such a deficit from the last two years of drought, going into the 3^rd year of drought, that drought recovery is just not going to occur. And this water, with the warmer temperatures that have been forecasted and have been occurring will move down through the system and into irrigation systems much earlier than planned and wont be available later in the year, when we have typically have snow melt run off.”

Oviatt said that means deficits when it comes to irrigation water this season, and districts struggling to meet demand.

“There will be some exceptions.  The northern Cascades, particularly around Mt. Hood, have received some snow, and they are near the median values.  However, it just depends on how fast that melts out here in the spring.  The northern Blue Mountains on the Washington/Oregon border also received adequate snowpack however, anything south of there, there’s just been no snow accumulation and the precipitation we’ve had since early January has been insufficient.”

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