Oregon’s Snowpack Low, May 13

A report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service puts Oregon’s snowpack at 11 percent of average this year. Officials say they expect less runoff water for stream flows in the state’s rivers, and thus less irrigation water for valley farmers. The snowpack has not been this low in Oregon since 1992 when it was measured at 13 percent of average. Snowpacks in the state’s mountain ranges show zero in the Klamath Basin and 16 percent of average in northeastern Oregon. The Rogue River, which reaches from Prospect to Gold Beach in southern Oregon, is projected to be about 55 percent of average this year. This is the second year in a row that the state’s snowpack has been low.