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Idaho's Snow Woes: Rivers Running High, Water Supplies at Risk
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Idahos Snow Woes: A Mixed Bag of Precipitation and Temperatures
Despite a drier-than-usual snow season in Idahos Boise, Payette, and Weiser River basins, the region has seen more precipitation than average. However, warmer temperatures have resulted in most of this precipitation falling as rain instead of snow. Snow water equivalent currently stands at eighty-three percent of average in the Boise Basin, eighty-one percent in the Payette, and sixty-nine percent in the Weiser River Basin.
A recent snowfall in the mountains provided a slight boost to these numbers, but without more snow at mid and low elevations, spring runoff could be weaker due to the rain filling up reservoirs rather than staying locked in as snowpack.
Rivers across Idaho are running higher than usual, offering kayakers a rare winter opportunity to paddle. However, experts express concern about the potential impact of low snowpack on water supplies, vegetation, spring flows, and overall ecosystem health.
The National Weather Service is monitoring the situation, as the next ten days do not promise additional snow. Yet, with the second half of January, all of February, and March still ahead, there is time for recovery. Reservoirs are currently at fifty-eight percent full in the Boise system and seventy-one percent in the Payette, though the Owyhee Basin in southern Idaho is struggling at just twenty percent of average. Checkout Solipillow.com
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