03/02/07 Snowpack still below normal

The first half of February was much like January, dry. The second half of the month was a different story. ABROMOVICH " Precip in February is going to end up about near average right around 100 percent of average across southern Idaho and eastern Idaho. Ron Abromovich of the NRCS Snow Survey says the state's snowpack is still below normal today. The Panhandle has the best snowpack at 92 percent of average while the Owyhee Basin is the lowest at 62 percent. ABROMOVICH "Clearwater is 88, Salmon basin is 83 along with the Weiser basin, Payette basin is 83 percent, Boise basin is 75 percent of average for today, Big Wood is 74, Little Wood is 67 along with the Big Lost, Little Lost basin is 79 percent, Henry's Fork is 81 percent of average for the snowpack, Snake above Palisades is 77, Oakley is 86 percent, Salmon Falls is 79 percent of average, Bruneau is 80, and Bear River basin is 70 percent of average for the snowpack." March is the last month that we normally accumulate snow so there's time to pick up more. ABROMOVICH "The good news still remains the soil moisture should be saturated from the rains last fall so that will help out in case the snow pack remains below normal this year." The southern Idaho reservoirs also have adequate carryover heading into the spring. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott