Snow news is good news

The final snowpack numbers are in and the Inland Northwest is normal – unusually so.

“Average is a matter of perspective, and this year average is looking pretty good,” said Scott Pattee, a water supply specialist with the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The federal government issues annual streamflow forecasts each year in early April, which is typically when snowpacks are at their deepest.

The reports help with planning for farmers, power companies and municipal water supplies.

Across Eastern Washington, snowpack is reported at 112 percent of average, which is nearly three times as much snow as the same time last year.

North Idaho is exactly at average. In Idaho, for the first time since 1997, the entire state has at least 100 percent of its usual snowpack.

All the major watersheds in the region, including the Coeur d’Alene, Spokane and Pend Oreille, are expected to have about 100 percent of their normal water supply, according to the latest forecasts.

Pattee, who works for the conservation service’s Washington office, said the snow was so deep in some areas, including near Lake Chelan, that measuring gauges were buried. The agency operates 59 remote measuring stations around the state, and takes depth readings at 100 additional sites.

The deepest snow in Washington was at Cayuse Pass, near Mount Rainier, which has 221 inches.

Portions of southern Idaho, including the Owhyee River basin, are covered by record-deep snows, prompting the federal government to warn in its latest forecasts of “a real possibility of dangerous high flows” in rivers.

The prospects of flooding in the Inland Northwest appear to be relatively slim, Pattee said. Springtime temperatures here are typically milder and the snowpack is dense and deep. “It takes a lot of energy to get this snow melting,” he said.

The federal government’s annual streamflow forecasts are typically written in a straightforward, stick-to-the-facts manner. But after several years of record drought, even the reports are no longer dry. The latest version from the Idaho field office is full of adjectives like “great,” and “thrilling,” as well as loads of exclamation points.

“This should be one of the best white-water seasons in almost 10 years,” according to one portion of the latest Idaho forecast. “Reservoirs will fill and remain full later into the summer for ideal water-skiing, boating and fishing opportunities. Wow!”