Recent snowfall having positive impact in state’s water supply

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - This past summer, Idaho was dry, completely dry.

Hydrologist Link Crawford says it was the worst drought they had seen in 15 years. 

Flash forward to now, the snowpack has resulted in a return to normal for many of the state’s mountain ranges. 

"The area of Idaho that used to be in the worst drought now has the most plentiful amount of snow of the entire state," Crawford said. "So, kind of ironic how much it's changed just in the last couple of months."

That change is a welcome sign to our local farmers. Crawford says they are anticipating a significant jump in the water supply in the state’s reservoir system. 

"If we can get 80, 90, 100% of normal water supply out of the reservoirs, then we should be doing pretty well for the irrigation season this upcoming summer," Crawford said.

Crawford says without the recent snowfall, we could have had another long and dry summer. 

"If we had had a continuation of that drought for one more year, I think we would have seen some serious ramifications in water supply for agriculture," Crawford said.

But Crawford believes we don't have enough snow. 

"We still need more snow," Crawford said. "We're not at our peak snowpack yet. The good thing is we're in a La Niña winter this year. Typically, La Niña years give us a little bit more snow and a little cooler temperatures."

Even though snow is not expected over the next few days, Crawford says he expects more snow will come before winter's end.

"If we keep at normal levels of snowfall for the rest of the winter or even a little bit below normal, we should be ok as far as water supply goes, because of the good, healthy start that we've gotten," Crawford said.