PORT ANGELES — After a series of late-winter storms, snowpack in the Olympic Mountains was 135 percent of normal heading into spring, a water supply expert said last week.
Scott Pattee, water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Mount Vernon, said the amount of water contained in the snow is 142 percent of normal near Hurricane Ridge, 140 percent of normal in the Little Quilcene River basin and 122 percent of normal in the Dungeness River basin.
Dungeness snowpack is particularly vital for summer irrigation in the Olympic Mountains’ rain shadow area, which is the portion of the North Olympic Peninsula around Sequim that is kept drier than other parts because of the barrier of the mountains.
“It’s fairly well-distributed up in the mountains,” Pattee said.
“It’s pretty set in place.”
Pattee described the snowpack as “seasoned,” meaning it is well-compressed and contains a good supply of water.
A flurry of March storms, including one earlier this week, drove up the Olympic snowpack from below normal levels.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service reported a 95 percent snowpack for the region on March 1.
“It was kind of dragging a little bit compared to the rest of the state,” Pattee said.
“The last system really hammered, really picked up the pace. I don’t see any water shortage anywhere in the state this year. We’re in good shape.”
A measuring station at Buckinghorse in the upper Elwha River valley in central Jefferson County is too new for historical averages.
But Pattee said they “got a ton of snow” recently.
Last year at this time, the Olympic snowpack was 162 percent of normal, Pattee said.
Although a sudden warm spell could put a dent in the snowpack, Pattee said chances of a significant melt are remote.
Dennis D’Amico, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, said a La Nina pattern is weakening but still influencing western Washington weather.
La Ninas generally bring cool and wet weather to the Pacific Northwest.
The Climate Prediction Center is calling for below-normal temperatures through June with normal precipitation, D’Amico said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
