Snowpack Critically Low as Snow Season Comes to End

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2001—After a season of below average snowfall, forecasts point to early runoffs and lower than average streamflows, which will have an impact on water supply in the Northwest, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Data collected by the NRCS Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecast Program show that snowpack is well below average in much of the West. Some areas are measuring 40-year low snowpack levels. Most snowpacks are between 40 and 70 percent of average in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, northern Wyoming, and northern Nevada. However, portions of eastern Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado report 100 to 120 percent above average snowpacks.

April 1 usually marks peak snowpack as much of the season's snow is beginning to melt and little accumulation occurs after that.

"Even though we cannot make more water, we can help people prepare by giving them estimates of how much water is stored in the mountains for runoff later," says Pearlie S. Reed, Chief of the NRCS. "That is critical information for irrigation, recreation, and even land management."

Knowledge of projected water availability allows agricultural producers to better plan their operations. For example, they can plant crops with lower water requirements or defer grazing of pastures to lessen financial impact and soil erosion.

Many states are planning on low spring and summer streamflows in areas throughout the West. The information gathered by NRCS helps water managers plan ahead, based on water forecasting. Not only are the water reserves in the mountains low this year in many states, but several major western storage reservoirs in Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington report below average storage levels for this time of year. Other western states’ reservoirs report near average storage levels with Wyoming and New Mexico reporting above average storage.

NRCS continuously monitors snowpack in the western states and each year, from January 1 through May 31, works with the National Weather Service to forecast the amount of snowmelt runoff in the West, where snowmelt provides about 75 percent of the water supply.

Major sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, industry, recreation, and government, base their water management plans on NRCS water supply forecasts, climate products, and drought risk assessments. Detailed, up-to-date snowpack and water supply information is available on the NRCS National Water and Climate Center homepage at www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov.

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Note to Editors:

Individual state contacts on snow survey are listed at www.rcw.nrcs.usda.gov/snowsurvey.html.

For photos of snow survey and water supply forecast activities, go to http://photogallery.nrcs.usda.gov and search for snow survey in keywords. High quality color photos in CMYK TIF format and RGB JPG, 5x7 size, are downloadable. Video clips of snowpack measurements also are available by contacting Terry Bish, USDA-NRCS, phone: 202-720-3210.

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