Higher elevations still hold 70% of winter snow

After tallying up the month’s precipitation totals, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has released its June Water Supply Outlook for the 2019 water year.

According to the service, May precipitation was above normal in the southern half of the state, especially south of the Snake River basin, while the Idaho Panhandle received less than normal moisture.

In the upper Snake Basin, sites north of Jackson were drier than normal during May, while southeast Idaho and other sites in southwest Wyoming were especially wet. Regional snowpack remains above normal at higher elevations, some still holding 70% or more of this season’s snow.

NRCS predicts the region will see peak river and stream flows over the next couple of weeks. The three-month outlook favors a warmer and wetter than average summer for the Upper Snake region.

Jackson Lake and Palisades will likely be in flood control operations until late June, when they are expected to fill. Other reservoirs in the system are already full and have begun passing inflow runoff water.