Survey says: Snow level ‘nearly normal’
Mail Tribune
Medford, Oregon
By PAUL FATTIG
December 29, 2006
Winter snowpack is an important measure of the coming water year
ASHLAND — “Nearly normal” sums up the first snow survey of the winter at the Siskiyou Summit.
The snow level on Thursday at the 4,600-foot elevation snow survey site was 12 inches, just below the 13-inch average for the end of December, according to Steve Johnson, snow ranger for the Ashland Ranger District in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
The snow’s water content is 2.8 inches, barely below the 2.9-inch average at this time of year, he said. That makes it 92 percent and 96 percent of average, respectively.
“It’s not quite normal with snow and water content, but there has been good saturation in the mountains,” Johnson said. “If you have saturated ground by now, it’s a good start on the year.”
The winter snowpack is an important measurement of the coming water year, providing a bank of water for summer streamflows and reservoir storage. The U.S. Forest Service works with the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service in measuring the snow survey sites.
Although the snowpack at that elevation is a bit below average for the end of December, the precipitation in the Rogue-Umpqua Basin is 125 percent of normal, Johnson observed. The Klamath Basin precipitation is 121 percent of normal, he added.
“The basins look good as a whole,” he said.
Up at Crater Lake National Park, the snowpack was 72 inches at park headquarters on Thursday. The average for the site, at 6,400 feet in elevation, is 62 inches for Dec. 29, according to park records.
The snowpack atop Mount Ashland, elevation 7,500 feet, is 71 inches. Last year at this time the snow was 75 inches deep on top of the peak.
At the Siskiyou Summit site, the record for the end of December is 52 inches of snow measured in 1965. However, there have been half a dozen times when there was no snow at the site during the first measurement of the year.
Historically, it is the only one of the four snow measurement sites in this forest that is physically measured in December. The three newer sites, all at 6,000 feet elevation or higher, are measured at the end of January, February, March and April.
The Siskiyou Summit snow survey site is the oldest, established in 1935.
“It’s still way too early to predict,” Johnson said of the coming water year. “It is a good start. But anything could happen between now and the end of April.”
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is calling for rain in the valleys and snow in the mountains beginning Sunday and continuing through Wednesday.
Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or at pfattig@mailtribune.com
Other pages in this section
- Crater Lake Symposium Convenes Researchers – Fall/Winter 2006
- Brian Smith plans to answer call of world’s highest peak – December 31, 2006
- Fatal crash closes Highway 97 – December 29, 2006
- Under proposal, Crater Lake entry fees would double – December 22, 2006
- Oregon Neutral In Shift From National Parks – December 15, 2006
- Big fee hikes at national parks are a bit too big – December 21, 2006
- Proposal would increase Crater Lake fees – December 18, 2006
- America’s Largest Bald Eagle Festival is President’s Day Weekend 2007 in the Klamath Basin of South Central Oregon – December 19, 2006
- Since You Asked: how much snow does Crater Lake get each winter? – December 14, 2006
- Volunteers become Park Service’s public face – November 28, 2006
- Pacific Crest Trail journey is a repeat performance – November 28, 2006
- Remembering a little boy lost – November 23, 2006
- Memorial Service Scheduled for Boy, 8, Lost at Crater Lake – November 18, 2006
- See old-growth, National Creek Falls on short trail – November 17, 2006
- Pine Beetles Can Set Stage for Disastrous Forest Fires – November 6, 2006
- Mom hopes to use dogs to find son – October 25, 2006
- Search for boy winds down – October 21, 2006
- Ceremony honors missing 8-year-old – October 21, 2006
- Search, hope for Portland boy all but over – October 21, 2006
- Searchers scour woods in vain – October 19, 2006
- Crater Lake Highway Renamed – October 18, 2006
- ‘Frustrating’ search – October 18, 2006
- Boulders, brush and bravery, but no boy – October 18, 2006
- Missing boy faces snow, wind – October 17, 2006
- Searchers continue to look for Portland boy missing near Crater Lake – October 17, 2006
- Snow slows search for boy missing at Crater Lake – October 17, 2006
- Massive search underway for Portland boy missing at Crater Lake – October 16, 2006
- Boy still missing at Crater Lake – October 16, 2006
- Mount Scott rewards hikers with a peak experience – September 29, 2006
- ‘The Good Fire’ – September 25, 2006
- Block Island will be featured on ABC show – September 22, 2006
- Bybee Complex Fires – September 14, 2006
- Snow job at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon – September 7, 2006
- Trees of heaven – September 7, 2006
- WebCam now available to view Crater Lake fire – September 7, 2006
- Natural end sought for Crater Lake fire – September 06, 2006
- Bybee Fire Complex Fact Sheet – September 2, 2006
- Crater Lake science and learning center opens – August 28, 2006
- Scientist to lecture about pines threatened by rust – August 27, 2006
- Lightning-stoked burns still growing – August 27, 2006
- Grand Opening of Science and Learning Center – August 24, 2006
- Newest Puzzle Fire near Mt. Jefferson tops 4,100 Acres – August 22, 2006
- Roving the Floor of Crater Lake – August 21, 2006
- Weather makes firefighters work harder – August 20, 2006
- Found in the ashes – August 20, 2006
- Crater Lake due for odd visitor – August 18, 2006
- Army veteran finally gets to run – August 14, 2006
- Crater Lake hosts marathon – August 13, 2006
- ‘What you see is what you get’ – August 12, 2006
- Tourists watch fire left to burn at Crater Lake – August 7, 2006
- Terry Richard picks Oregon’s best mountain hikes – August 6, 2006
- Bybee fire use update – August 3, 2006
- Crater Lake will help clear brush – August 1, 2006
- John Carl Owings – August 1, 2006
- Finding their place in the sun – August 1, 2006
- Building improvements, relocation of the primary parking lot – July 28, 2006
- ‘Vets’ highway’ idea reaches impasse – July 26, 2006
- The essence of Oregon summer: visiting Crater Lake – July 23, 2006
- Bill would boost size of Upper Klamath Refuge – July 10, 2006
- History into stories – July, 2006
- Find haven of coolness along Red Blanket Creek – July 14, 2006
- U.S. considers closer watch on volcanoes – July 13, 2006
- Lack of cash strains national parks – June 24, 2006
- Volcano Man: New Superintendent Enjoys Craters of the Moon – June 23, 2006
- Can bicycling be Oregon’s Maine event? – June 16, 2006
- Annie Creek Restaurant set to open at Crater Lake – May 25, 2006
- Rouse to mark 50 years – April 23, 2006
- Gerald L. ‘Gary’ Hathaway – December 12, 2001
- Senator Boxer announces National Scenic Byway grants for northern California All-American Road – March 31, 2006
- Walking on Crater Lake – February 21, 2006
- Dispute swirls around geothermal project – January 14, 2006
- William Arthur ‘Bill’ Bloom – January 13, 2006
- Crater restaurant-gift shop nears completion – January 05, 2006
- Crater Lake: preserved in all its glory –