When it comes to the snowpack in Washington’s higher elevations, it’s not looking bad; but it’s also not looking fabulous.  That’s how Scott Pattee with NRCS-Washington is describing the statewide snowpack, which is sitting at 99% of average.  Pattee noted while the Northwest has seen several storms roll across the area over the past couple of weeks, it hasn’t resulted in massive snow accumulations.

 

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“As much as anything, except in just a couple of isolated places, in the state, it’s kind of been maintenance snow that we've been getting and precipitation.  And so we haven't really gained a lot you know that that 99% is only two percentage points more than we were just six days ago before this last storm cycle hit.”

 

Pattee noted that snowpack numbers right now run from just under 110% of average to the low 80s.  And he added the inconsistency is occurring on both sides of the Cascades.

 

“As a good example, right now on the lower Yakima we're still sitting at only 83% of normal we just can't seem to catch a break there in that area.  And Klickitat is at 89% [of normal], Naches is 87% which is a little bit of an increase from a few days ago.  And we see the same thing with the West side.  The North Puget Sound, again the furthest away from the storm tracks, is sitting at 88% of average.  Whereas the central Puget, in that Everett/Seattle convergence zone is 106% of typical.  So, numbers are just kind of all over the board this year.”

 

What does this mean as producers start to think about the irrigation season in the coming weeks?

 

 

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