02/01/07 Dismay January snowfall

The Oakley basin snowpack is the highest in southern Idaho right now at 82 percent. Thanks to a very dry January it all goes down from there says Ron Abromovich of the NRCS snow survey. ABROMOVICH "Salmon basin snowpack 79, Weiser basin 77, Payette is 79, the Boise River basin is 75 percent of average, Big Wood is 72, Little Wood, Big Lost are 65 percent of average, Henry's Fork and Teton are 72,along with the Snake basin above Palisades Reservoir. Willow, Blackfoot, Portneuf basins are 68 percent, Salmon Falls is 76, Bruneau basin is 70, the Bear River is 64, and the lowest in the state is the Owyhee Basin at 51 percent of average for today." The Panhandle at 92 percent and the Clearwater at 85 percent are evidence that what storms passed over Idaho went mostly to the north. Abromovich says there are still two months left so we could get more snow. ABROMOVICH "I guess on the positive side what we still have is good soil moisture through out most of the state and good reservoir carryover in case the snowpack remains below normal, that's going to help out a number of users." Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott