03/01/05 Dry February leads to dismal snowpack

The snow and rain didn't fall in Idaho in February. Ron Abromovich of the NRCS says that from Central Idaho northward most basins only got 20 percent of their normal precipitation last month. The warm weather is also causing snow in some of the lower elevations to melt. Unfortunately in some areas there's not a lot of snow to melt. ABROMOVICH "The Clearwater basin snowpack is 48 percent. Salmon is 55 percent of average, the Weiser basin is 54 percent of average, the Payette basin is 49 percent of average, the Boise basin at 55 percent of average. The Big Wood basin is 84 percent, Little Wood basin is 72 percent of average, Henry's Fork and Teton basins are 77 and the Snake basin above Palisades is 74 percent. Willow, Blackfoot and Portneuf basins are 76 percent of average. Oakley basin snowpack is 73, Salmon Falls snowpack is 76 percent along with the Bruneau basin, the Owyhee basin is 67 percent." The Bear River basin, the lowest in the state last year is now the highest with a 98 percent snowpack. So what does all of this mean for streamflows this spring? A look at those numbers tomorrow. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott