The spring snowpack in the Olympic Mountains is 102 percent of average, a snowy water-savings bank that could provide rivers with water needed for the summer — if it doesn’t melt too soon.
The U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) released a statewide water supply forecast earlier this week that showed plenty of snow, but said that early warm temperatures are melting the snow quickly.
The latest National Weather Service short- and long-range forecasts predicted a continued warmer-than-usual spring and a drying trend.
“There is still concern that the existing snowpack is further advanced than normal and could begin to melt more rapidly than hoped for,” said Scott Pattee, NRCS water supply specialist.
“As the weather warms and the snow begins to melt in earnest be aware that streams and rivers will still be very cold and swift,” Pattee said.
Four Snotel (snow telemetry) weather stations in the Olympic Mountains measure snowpack and rainfall in river watersheds.
Snotel is a system of snow telemetry and related climate sensors operated by the NRCS in the western states.
The Buckinghorse Snotel site, which measures snowpack at 4,620 feet elevation in the southern Elwha River watershed, had 121 inches of snow, or 77 percent of average, on Sunday.
The Waterhole Snotel site, on a ridge between the Morse Creek and Elwha River watersheds east of Hurricane Ridge, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, had 80 inches of snow, or 108 percent of average.
Dungeness Snotel site in the Dungeness River watershed, had no snow. The 30-year average is 6.3 inches.
Snotel data showed the lower-elevation site, at 4,010 feet elevation, had a near-average snowpack until unusually warm spring temperatures in lower elevations melted the snow in late March.
In Jefferson County, the Mount Craig Snotel site, in the Dosewallips River watershed at 4,200 feet elevation, had 67 inches of snow, or 103 percent of average.
All of the sites have passed their average peak dates, meaning the snow has ceased accumulating for the winter, and is expected to begin to melt to produce spring and summer runoff.
Those snowpacks are likely to be enough to prevent the kind of river-flow difficulties the region saw during the summer of 2015, Pattee has said.
The winter of 2014-15 produced the lowest snowpack on record and saw the usual mountain snow fall as rain and run off before the summer peak water-use season.
Lower-than-normal river flows and higher-than-average water temperatures devastated some salmon runs during last summer and autumn.
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide drought emergency in May 2015, and by mid-summer several North Olympic Peninsula communities, agriculture users and businesses were put on voluntary or mandatory water-use restrictions.
Dry conditions persisted through the summer, and some water-use restrictions remained in place through October.
A wet fall and a snow-heavy early winter helped restore groundwater levels and build early snowpack.
Statewide, above normal precipitation in March kept Snotel averages above normal at 132 percent, Pattee said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
