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Mountain snowpack off to slow start

By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer

The buildup of Montana's mountain snowpack is starting off slow.


 Although most drainages are above average in terms of precipitation for this winter, a lot of that moisture came down in the form of October rains that quickly flowed downstream or soaked into the ground.

“We should have 33 percent of our snow on the ground right now and we have 25 percent,” said Roy Kaiser, water supply specialist for the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bozeman. “We're off to a slow start this year.”

October provided well-above-average precipitation, but it was in solid form only in the very high mountains, Kaiser said. When November came with its lower temperatures, precipitation dropped off to well below average.

“November wasn't kind to us and December is running about average,” he said.

While there's enough snow for area ski resorts to operate, mountain snowpack is a key component of summer streamflows. It is the primary water-storage method for much of the state.

And for the past several years, runoff has been coming earlier than normal, with March temperatures averaging several degrees higher than historical averages, according to data from Steven Running, a climate specialist at the University of Montana in Missoula.

When that happened last March, snowpack drained from the mountains early and many streams reached or approached record low flows later in the summer.

Here are some statistics for regional drainages, where precipitation has been measured since Oct. 1.

* Jefferson River: Precipitation is 105 percent of average, but water content is 89 percent of average.

* Gallatin River: Precipitation is 113 percent of average; water content is 91 percent of average.

* Madison River: Precipitation is 109 percent of average; water content is 92 percent of average.

* Upper Yellowstone River: Precipitation is 115 percent of average; water content is 93 percent of average.

West of the Continental Divide, things look worse. Both precipitation and water content are lower.

The Kootenai River basin has 71 percent of average water content, the Flathead River Basin has 64 percent, the upper Clark Fork River Basin has 71 percent and the Bitterroot has 91 percent.

On the Web: http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/data/trend.html

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