This presentation will cover the 2025-2026 winter season snowpack and projected water supplies or shortages.
We’ll look at early-season winter outlooks and past years with similar weather patterns. We’ll discuss the warm temperatures from last fall and early winter that led to much of the precipitation falling as rain rather than snow.

We’ll also discuss last year’s runoff and how the record-dry spring affected it. We’ll look at temperature trends across different elevations in Idaho and discuss why some snowpacks are doing better this year in the higher elevations.

You'll learn about snow and streamflow relationships that are used to predict runoff volumes and timing of snowmelt peak flows. The key is whether the past can still be used to predict the future in a changing climate with a greater degree of climatic variability.

Sponsored by Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG), 2455 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise. Members of IMMG and children - FREE admission, Nonmembers of IMMG $5. Pre-registration is required.

About our Presenter Ron Abramovich:

Ron graduated from Colorado State University with a BS degree in Watershed Sciences in 1986. Worked for the USGS in southern Colorado, chasing thunderstorms to collect runoff samples for the expansion of Fort Carson military base. Moved to Telluride, Colorado for the winter and met his wife Janice, a ski coach. In May 1988 he accepted a full-time job and moved to Salt Lake City to work for the USDA Soil Conservation Service Snow Survey Office.

In August of 1991, the Idaho Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Snow Survey Office advertised the first-ever Water Supply Specialist position. Ron applied, got it and claims it to be the best job anyone could have.

He worked as Idaho’s Snow Survey Water Supply Specialist from 1991 to 2019, providing snow survey and water supply information to the many users who rely on Idaho’s annual snowfall and water supply. His work took him to the pretest locations in Idaho to check the snowpack. His work with end users across the state provided him with a better understanding of Idaho's complex hydrology and the decision information needed to wisely manage and use water as a natural resource.

Ron is now retired so is enjoying skiing, rafting, fishing, hiking, and biking, but loves to share his knowledge about snow, weather and flow relationships.