Dry spell keeps deep snowpack in its place

Weather - The recent run of clear, warmer days makes flooding unlikely  

March 15, 2008

STUART TOMLINSON

The Oregonian

There's nearly twice as much snow in Oregon's mountains and foothills as there was this time last year, but the threat of floods caused by a rapid melt-off of low elevation snow has eased.

Jon Lea, a hydrologist with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in Portland , said the last five weeks of below average precipitation and mild temperatures were just what Oregon needed to reduce the flooding threat.

"The slow melt-off of record mid-elevation snowpacks won't really affect summer water supplies," Lea said, "because there is still lots of snow in yonder mountains."

Oregon 's floods often come on the heels of abundant snowpacks between 2,500 and 5,000 feet that melt like snow cones on hot sidewalks during heavy rainfall. The dry spell -- Portland finished February with a 2.13-inch rainfall deficit -- barely cut into the state's snowpack, which was 142 percent of average Friday.

A year ago Friday, the statewide snowpack was 84 percent of average, and some Oregon basins barely cracked the 50 percent mark. Oregon 's snowpack is tied with Arizona for the best in the West, followed by Washington at 133 percent of average.

There are 10 reporting stations below 4,400 feet with record snowpacks, many of which have received 2 feet of snow since Wednesday. That is great news for ski resorts.

"Everything has really fallen beautifully into place for skiers and snowboarders," said Jon Tullis, spokesman for Timberline Ski Area. "We had all that snow put down early in the season, and then nice spring skiing conditions for the last month or so. The foot of new snow in the past 24 hours had freshened up the slopes and renewed interest."

The ski season will undoubtedly stretch well into spring, which starts at 10:48 p.m. Wednesday.

Warm, sunny days, however, aren't in the next week's forecast for the lowlands.

"We're going to keep getting rain in the valleys and snow in the mountains through next week," said Tiffani Brown, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Portland . "We'll get a little break Sunday, but it will not last long. The jet stream is aimed right at us . . . it's going to be one system after another with no real breaks at all."

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