Western snowpack worry
Low snowpack across the western U.S. is being flagged as a setup for a busy wildfire season after an unusually dry winter, according to reporting on current conditions. (dnews.com) Idaho in particular just came through one of its warmest winters and is described as being in a snow drought, with some low-elevation ranges seeing some of the lowest snowpack ever recorded. (eastidahonews.com)
The West is heading into spring with historically low mountain snowpack, and federal forecasters say that raises the odds of a harsher fire season. (nifc.gov) Snowpack is the water stored in mountain snow, and it usually peaks around April 1 before melting into streams, reservoirs and soils. On April 9, Drought.gov said Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming all posted record-low April 1 snow-water equivalent since SNOTEL monitoring began in the 1980s, while California logged its second-lowest. (drought.gov) The winter was not just dry. Drought.gov said every major river basin and every western state was in snow drought by early March, after each major basin logged either its warmest or second-warmest winter on record from December through February. (drought.gov) The fire signal is already showing up in national forecasts. The National Interagency Fire Center said on April 1 that 1,615,683 acres had burned nationwide by March 31, or 231% of the 10-year average, and that drought had expanded across much of the West as below-normal precipitation persisted. (nifc.gov) A thin snowpack melts out early, which leaves forests and rangelands to dry sooner and for longer. Drought.gov said peak snow-water equivalent across western states arrived 21 to 34 days earlier than normal on average this year, with April through June expected to stay warm across the West and dry in parts of the region. (drought.gov) Idaho has become one of the clearest examples. East Idaho News reported on April 12 that Idaho Department of Water Resources hydrologist David Hoekema called April 1 the state’s lowest snowpack on record for that date, after one of Idaho’s warmest winters left low-elevation ranges near historic lows. (eastidahonews.com) By April 10, the federal Idaho SNOTEL update showed basin indexes at 62% of median in the Northern Panhandle, 58% in the Coeur d’Alene-St. Joe, 68% in the Clearwater and many individual lower-elevation sites already at or near zero snow-water equivalent. (wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov) Idaho’s snow season also ended early. KISU reported that the state hit maximum snowpack on March 30, with some areas peaking in mid-March instead of early April, and Boise State University professor Alejandro Flores called it a “historic snow drought.” (kisu.org) The problem is not limited to fire crews. Drought.gov said municipal and agricultural water restrictions are increasing, and East Idaho News reported that Meridian farmer Neil Durrant is leaving a couple hundred acres unplanted this year because of water uncertainty. (drought.gov) (eastidahonews.com) The drought map is still moving in the wrong direction. The U.S. Drought Monitor said on April 9 that conditions worsened across parts of Oregon, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico during the prior week, even after some scattered precipitation in the West. (droughtmonitor.unl.edu) The next test is the weather between now and early summer. Federal drought analysts said any relief now depends on late-spring storms and, later, how active and widespread the summer monsoon becomes. (drought.gov)
