Hydrologists from the Natural Resources Conservation Service measured snow pack Tuesday in the mountains above the Treasure Valley. At the Mores Creek sight near Idaho City, snow pack was 53 inches. But more importantly, says water supply specialist Ron Abramovich, that snow contains 14 inches of water.
“And normally at this time of year we’d have 12 inches of water in the snow pack” he says. “So we’re a little above average, which is good.”
That follows two years of low early winter ‘snow water’ levels. But Abramovich says January 1 is less than halfway through the winter snow accumulation period. So farmers shouldn’t count their proverbial chickens yet.
“[By] April 1st we typically have 30 inches,” he says. “So the snow pack would end up less than 50 percent of normal if we don’t get anything else from here on out.”
That’s a worst case scenario. Abramovich doesn’t expect it to happen. But he didn’t expect to have much snow now either. This fall, forecasts were for a dry winter because of the El Nino weather patterns in the Pacific. Abramovich says other factors have counteracted the El Nino effect and brought unexpected storms.
It's not just the snow pack that feeds the rivers of the Treasure Valley that's above average right now. Most basins in southern Idaho are at or above normal for this time of year. Only Idaho's pan handle has had a particularly dry winter so far.
Find Adam Cotterell on Twitter @cotterelladam
Copyright 2014 Boise State Public Radio