So Far, Not So Good For Northwest’s Winter Snowpack As Reservoirs Are Already Low
Read On
This weekend and into next week the Northwest is set to get several blasts of winter weather. That’s welcome news for Washington and Oregon’s water experts.
Both states are well below normal for snowpack for this time of year.
In Washington’s mountains, this October and November’s temperatures were among the warmest in recorded history.
Both Washington and Oregon’s recent snow maps show large blotches of red and orange — meaning lack of snow. Washington has just 38 percent of normal snowpack for this time of year.
In Oregon, experts say soil moisture and stream flows continue to be lower than they’d like.
And NOAA’s three-month forecasts for the Northwest call for a period of warmer than normal weather.
Oregon officials say with this year’s drought – another dry year in 2019 could pose some serious challenges.
Multi-year droughts can mean there’s less water held over in reservoirs and less water recharging aquifers. And many Oregon reservoirs have little to no water in the bank right now.
Related Stories:
Early January storms bring much-needed snow to the Northwest – is it enough?
Snow and ice has blasted the lowlands lately but up high where it counts for the rest of the year, snowpack is still a bit thin in parts of Washington… Continue Reading Early January storms bring much-needed snow to the Northwest – is it enough?
A Northwest dryland wheat farmer looks to the sky, contemplates the coming harvest
Even with all the rain and snow in California this winter, it’s been pretty dry in our region, especially in much of eastern Oregon and parts of eastern Washington. Continue Reading A Northwest dryland wheat farmer looks to the sky, contemplates the coming harvest
‘Somber Harvest’: Crops May Fail, Cattle Sold As The Northwest Descends Into Drought
Some stunted wheat fields won’t see the combine this summer. Cattle operators are severely cutting back their herds for lack of grass. Little moisture since February in wide swaths of the Northwest is to blame. And drought is deepening across the West, with federal drought maps showing massive and growing areas of red. Continue Reading ‘Somber Harvest’: Crops May Fail, Cattle Sold As The Northwest Descends Into Drought