February stayed cool and wet to help out the drought
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - We have had consistent snowy conditions with the temperatures being below average for the month of February. This has helped our snowpack out greatly to be mostly above average, and it will more importantly look to at least help lessen the severity of the drought.
The areas that have their snowpack the most above average is the Portneuf and Bear River Basins in southeast Idaho. Both basins are seeing their current snowpack be almost 150% of their yearly average snowpack to date In fact, the Bear River Basin's snowpack has already passed it's usual peak snowpack for the year. We don't usually see the snowpack peak and begin to melt until early April which is that more impressive for the Bear River Basin.
Most basins around the region are holding strong above average. All basins in central Idaho from the Little Lost to Big Wood basins have snowpacks around 120% of their yearly averages. The Teton and Grand Fork basin is just below that mark at around 112%.
The only basins lacking are the Salmon Basin which is just below average at 95% of their yearly average and the important Snake River Basin. The Snake River Basin is currently at 108% of their yearly average snowpack, but hydrologists argue that we need more. The Snake River Basin doesn't have much carryover water from last year.
The other main concern will be the efficiency of the snow melt. We had a dry October before the snow came in that puts most of our snowpack on dry soil. Once the snow melts, some of the snow melt is expected to sink into the ground.
The rest of March is predicted to be wetter and colder than normal which could help get us further out of drought. Right now, experts say it's a 50/50 call for the current snow pack to get us out of drought, but this March forecast could definitely help even more.
