3-14 IAT Snowpack

3-14 IAT Snowpack

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
In Idaho’s high country, the snowpack change is dramatic. There was barely a foot of snow on February 1 and now, six weeks later, over 6 feet and a return to normal. Here is Phil Morrisey from the USDA conservation service: “Here we are in February at 60% or two thirds of the way through snow season, it was not looking too good at the beginning of February.” In late fall a high pressure ridge blocked storms, a ridge so powerful that it held off storm tracks until 1 February, giving way to the pineapple express. “It’s a sudden change in the atmosphere that brought moisture almost continuously up from tropical areas around Hawaii in a steady stream and a lot of times that condition really favors central to northern Idaho so that the direction really favors us here in this part of the state as well as North and this time it carried all the way through Eastern Idaho.” What does this mean in terms of historical snowpack numbers? “I did some checking on snow tells sites based on history, and it looks like in general, let’s say the upper Snake, which is a big portion of Idaho’s farm water, the snowfall from 1 February to today has been 2 to 3 times the normal amount for the month and in fact at most of the sites, it is the third highest February change since 1980.
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