EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Snowpack levels across much of Oregon are below normal levels. National Weather Service meteorologist Colby Neuman in Portland said the entire West Coast is dry.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, released Dec. 26, showed abnormally dry to drought conditions across Oregon and abnormally dry conditions across much of Washington. Drought conditions were shown in other Western states, too.
Through Tuesday, the National Weather Service recorded 21.19 inches of rainfall in Eugene, breaking by more than 2 inches a nearly 70-year-old record for lowest rainfall totals, The Register-Guard reported. Most Oregon counties are seeing snowpack levels of less than 50 percent of average.
Oregon’s Hoodoo Ski Area needs 36 inches of snow to open for the season but has only about 7.5 inches so far.
In Washington, The Summit at Snoqualmie Pass remained closed for skiing and snowboarding almost three weeks later than average.
Warm weather has brought rain, melting what snow had accumulated, and making it “very difficult to sustain the snowpack that we’ve had,” spokesman Guy Lawrence told KING-TV. “We’ve built a little tiny bit of snowpack, then we lose a little bit, (and) we gain a little bit back.”
Neuman said there is time to rebound from the abnormally dry conditions in the next few months. But if that doesn’t happen, he said that could create concerns for water supplies and perhaps an early fire season.
He noted four recent years with low snowpack: 1981, 1990, 1996 and 2005. In 1981 and 2005, dry conditions persisted through the winter, while heavy snow fell in the second half the winter seasons in 1990 and 1996.
National Weather Service meteorologist Clinton Rockey of Portland said the second half of winter and spring are tough to predict. Based on past weather patterns and ocean cycles, he said this summer will be warmer than usual.
