02/21/06 Snows good so far

Mid-February is also the three-quarter mark for the annual winter accumulations of precipitation. This is where weather forecasters and snow pack specialists get a fairly good idea where the spring and summer months will shape up from water runoff and availability standpoints. And from all indications, the Northwest should be looking at a fairly normal water year. Take the news from Oregon, where drought like conditions have lingered for much of the Eastern part of the state, news from water specialists is that water content is at two and a half times normal in snow pack. The news is similar from experts in Washington State, such as Natural Resources Conservation Service's Scott Pattee, who report the heavy snows of December and January should result in normal stream flows this year. PATTEE: Snow pack is looking great statewide, just only a couple of spots around the state that are below average, and that's just slightly below average, nothing to worry about. And yes, that good news also extends to the driest parts of Washington State. Last year, the Yakima Basin was hit hard by drought like conditions, and was even the main focus of a statewide drought emergency. But Pattee says there should be no such worries this year. PATTEE: The Yakima Basin is doing great. They're almost leading the state in both snow pack and stream flow forecast for the coming season. At the first of the month, we were at 130 per cent of average snow pack in the Yakima Basin. Several southern Idaho counties have also had to deal with drier than normal conditions in recent years, and yes, they too have above normal snow pack so far. In fact, the last three months of above normal precipitation in Idaho are a first in the winter months since the winter of 1998-1999. And it has gotten to a point that some water is being released from Idaho reservoirs to avoid spring flooding. Now things are a little different from a long term perspective in parts of the Northwest where irrigation reservoirs and storage areas are not as readily available. N.R.C.S. officials in Oregon say the soil in some areas has been so dry for so long, large-size trees are literally gulping moisture out of the ground. And that means they are also counting on some strong spring rains to aid soil moisture. According to Pattee, the region is facing La Nina type conditions in the next couple of months & meaning cooler temperatures but normal to above normal precipitation levels. PATTEE: Some of the current forecasts for the next ninety days do go in the forecast equations, which has helped moderate the fact that we are looking at pretty close to normal temperatures, and hopefully normal precipitation, so as long as we have that, and that's about all we can base our forecasts on, but as long as we have those conditions then we're going to look pretty good.