Washington Snowpack

Much of the Pacific Northwest has seen warmer and drier than normal conditions over the past several months.

The water supply for central Washington continues to dwindle, and irrigation demands will not be met this season in the Yakima Basin.  The Bureau of Reclamation’s June Total Water Supply Available Forecast indicates senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements, but junior water rights will only receive 43% of their full entitlements this year.  That is a  decreas...

Washington is in the final weeks of the snow season, and the 2024-2025 season has been a bit of a disappointment when it comes to the snowpack.  As of Monday, the statewide snowpack was sitting at 86% of average.  Matt Warbritton with NRCS noted in some regions of the state continue to see persistent and pervasive snowpack deficits.   “Notably i...

The snowpack in several locations across Washington is not very good for this time of year, which has many people concerned about the possibility of drought.  When talking about drought, the state Department of Ecology is not just talking about the here and now, but also the potential for drought this summer across the Evergreen State.  And tha...

The Bureau of Reclamation is out with its first water supply forecast of the year, and it looks like the Yakima basin may have a challenging irrigation season ahead.  Reclamation’s March 2025 total water supply available forecast indicates the water supply will not fully meet irrigation demands this season.  The early est...

Matt Warbritton with NRCS said the Washington snowpack is not encouraging for this time of year.  He noted that many basins, most of which are in the Cascades are in deficit just a month before the typical apex of snow season.  He added one of the regions that’s of greatest concern is central Washington.  He noted the Upper and ...

As of February 13th, the Washington Department of Ecology said it was too early to tell if enough snowpack had accumulated to lift the 2024 drought declaration.  Experts are concerned that at this point, it will take more snow than Washington will likely see before the spring to offset the dry conditions the state experienced last year.   ...

For the higher elevations of Washington, the current snowpack is a bit of a disappointment.  Currently only four basins are at or above average for this time of year, the Lower Snake-Walla Walla, Lower Columbia, Klickitat, and the Lower Pend Oreille.   ...

The great start the Washington snowpack enjoyed back in November and early December has somewhat waned, thanks to a quiet and uneventful December.  Latest snowpack numbers for much of the Evergreen State are still above normal, but not by the measure we saw a month or two ago.  Right n...

Drought conditions across Oregon and Washington continue to improve, thanks to rain and snow over the last few weeks.  But Climatologist Zach Hoylman said not all areas are created equal.   “Snowpack is showing encouraging accumulation, so far, in the west, and a slower start in the east.  However, it’s very...