March snowpack

Below normal mountain snowpack in several Western mountain ranges late in the water season means worry about potential runoff and water supplies for much of the region this spring and summer.. As of the start of March, near to normal mountain snowpack accumulations in only one area. Here’s USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey It would be the northern Rockies. The best shape in terms of overall snowpack is western Wyoming and extending into parts of Montana and eastern Idaho. There we see roughly a near average snowpack for early March. So that's the bright spot. Some of those good numbers do extend northward into parts of western Montana and into other areas of Idaho as well. Speaker 1: The low snowpack totals overall are increasing concerns about lack of water runoff into reservoirs this spring and summer. Speaker 3: We do have grave. Speaker 2: Concerns about the availability of water to meet all needs, everything from municipal use to recreational use as well as agricultural. Speaker 1: Rippie says. Even with a below normal snowpack average in the Sierra Nevada. Speaker 2: The latest numbers coming in from the California Department of Water Resources actually indicate that the reservoirs in California are holding well above average water storage for this time of year. There is a little bit of a buffer against these low snowpack numbers, but as the summer wears on, if we don't add much snow for the remainder of March, we could see some water restrictions there. Speaker 1: While in other areas of the West. Speaker 3: The situation. Speaker 2: Is much more dire. As you move into the other areas that have lower snowpack numbers like Oregon, Nevada and the southwestern United States, that could become rather critical as water could run out early snowpack is expected to melt off unusually early. It also opens the West to a potential extended wildfire season.