11/02/05 October rains mostly below normal amts

We're looking to break out of a dry cycle that has gripped Idaho for six years but October wasn't exactly a wet start to the new water year. Ron Abromovich of the NRCS snow survey office says only a few areas had above normal rainfall last month. ABROMOVICH "And those are the Weiser, Medicine Lodge-Mud Lake area and Henry's Fork-Teton basin. Which means the rest of Idaho had rain or snowfall last month that was considered below normal. ABROMOVICH "Clearwater basin and Salmon are 80 percent of average, Payette is 83, Boise basin is only 61 percent of average, the Big Wood basin October precip was 66 percent, Little Wood is the lowest in the state at 57 percent. The Big Lost basin is 66 percent, Little Lost and Birch Creek is 81, Snake Basin above Palisades is 89 percent, Little Lost Henry's Fork and Teton is 118, Willow-Blackfoot-Portnuef is 87, Oakley 88, Salmon Falls 63, Bruneau 57 percent, Owyhee 66 and the Bear River is 64 percent for October precip." The short range November forecast calls for rain in many basins and snow in the higher elevations. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott