Oregon snowpack at just 69 percent

April 4, 2007

PORTLAND (AP) - Accumulations of mountain snow, the source of large portions of Oregon 's drinking water and electricity, have fallen below 70 percent of average.

The state's snowpack usually peaks April 1, said Jon Lea, a hydrologist with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in Portland .

This year, it peaked about a month ago, at 93 percent of average.

On Tuesday, the snowpack dipped to 69 percent of average. A year ago, it was 139 percent of average.

“It's been the kind of year when we'll get big storms with heavy snows and then weeks with nothing, that kind of up and down,” Lea said.

About three-fourths of the state's water for drinking, hydroelectric power, irrigation and recreation comes from winter snows that melt during the warmer, drier months, recharging streams, rivers and reservoirs.

In northwest Oregon , measuring sites are at or slightly above 100 percent of average. Mount Hood is at 102 percent.

Snowpacks in eastern and southeastern Oregon are at 40 percent to 50 percent of average, Lea said.

Lea said the numbers reflect winter storms, which have been focused on northwest Oregon and northward into Washington , where the statewide snowpack is 97 percent of average, the best in the lower 48 states.

The winter was relatively dry in Western states. California and Nevada report snowpacks at about 45 percent of average. Colorado 's is at 76 percent of average.

Lea said fall rains helped some reservoirs.

Despite a snowpack at 40 percent of average in the Owyhee basin, rainfall since January has been 87 percent of average. As a result, the Owyhee reservoir is 81 percent full. The Prineville and Wickiup reservoirs in central Oregon are nearly full.

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