Idaho Snowpack, Reservoirs Looking Good

Despite the warming daytime highs, the snowpack across Idaho still looks very good.  Erin Whorton with NRCS said the snow season was a good one across the state.

“We saw wetter than normal conditions north of the Snake River Plain, especially compared to last year, and we really saw a much better snowpack in northern Idaho compared to last year," she noted.  "The snowpack south of the Snake River plain was above normal a little bit drier than last year, but still above normal.  And then in the upper Snake basins is pretty similar snowpack as to last year. So near normal to above normal.  It's been looking really good.”

Whorton added the snow melt is happening at a good pace, allowing rivers and creeks to absorb the extra water with few reports of local flooding.  You can’t mention runoff without thinking about the reservoirs across the state.  Whorton said reservoir storage looks really good.

"We're at 86% full in the upper Snake system and they're projected to get close to filling," Whorton said.  "In the Boise system, we're about 64% full.  They drafted a little bit and because we've had such a good snowpack, they wanted to make room for the incoming snowmelt this year.  And so they had to, like, do a little bit of flood risk management operations in the Boise system.   But Reservoir storage is looking really good even along our smaller reservoirs. Reservoir storage is near to above normal.”

Whorton added the cool overnight temperatures are helping the snowpack melt at a comfortable pace.

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