Even though it snowed quite a bit, it was a relatively warm winter down low, so the snow line goes from a lot of snow to no snow very quickly. So, some of our low-elevation sites are below average. |
It just takes a lot of the stress and strain off the water supply. |
It's the kind of year we like to see. And if everything holds, the water supply outlook is pretty good. |
Last year, what saved everything as far as water were the springtime rains that came. That's what filled up most of our irrigation reservoirs, because there was no snow to speak of. It was very, very skimpy statewide. |
My gut feeling is it is still early enough in the season, as long as we keep getting moisture. We just need some cooler temperatures also to get more snow. |
Snow at this station here is pretty much Sandy River Basin. It will all drain into the Sandy River when it melts off. |
The early indication is that its an average type of year with good rain and snowfall. If things keep progressing as they are now, we should have near normal stream flows this summer. |
Think of snow like a deep, cold sponge. It can hold quite a bit of water in it. |
We had some really nice snowfall for the month of January. Last year was pretty skimpy. This is a whole lot different than it was last year. |