Warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected again this fall and winter — the same kind of temperatures that led to a low snowpack and drought conditions this year.
That was the word from a National Weather Service representative at a Tuesday meeting to discuss the state’s ongoing drought.
Predictions on the amount of precipitation expected, however, are inconclusive, said the Weather Service’s Brent Bower, one of several officials who spoke at the gathering at the Port Angeles Library that attracted about 55 people.
Warm temperatures this past winter caused precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow, meaning that the mountains had a substantially reduced snowpack — and thus less stored water to feed rivers and streams in the dry summer months.
That shortage has shown up recently in the Dungeness and Lower Elwha rivers, which have been posting record or near-record low flows.
The forecast for warmer average temperatures doesn’t necessarily mean a repeat of last winter’s conditions, Bower said.
“You can have a few really warm days,” he said.
“If they don’t happen during your storms, you’re OK.”
Predictive models have not provided a strong indication of how much precipitation could fall this fall and winter, however.
“It’s equal chances that it will be above, below or normal,” he said.
