03/10/05 Record low snowpack melting fast

Washington Ag March 10, 2005 "March came in like a lamb, but it came in dying of thirst." That is how Scott Pattee, water supply specialist for the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service characterized Washington's March 1st snowpack report. On that date the snowpack was 26 percent of average but yesterday Pattee told a teleconference it`s already dropped to 23 percent because of the warm temperatures. Pattee: "Across the state probably a 1/4 of our stations are record low at this point and we are adding more to the list every day to the automated SNO-TEL stations. We have record low streamflow forecasts. Almost half of our forecast points in the state as of March 1 set new record low streamflow forecasts. Most of those records were compared back to years like 1977." 1977 is pretty much the drought year of record in Washington. Pattee says some late season snow and cool spring weather helped out back then, but this year;. Pattee: "We are not looking at really any major weather systems for the next 90-days, but especially for the next 30-days or so." I'm Bob Hoff.