It
might appear that record breaking bountiful snows of late February and early
March, setting a 118 year high mark, should have pulled the Descutes basin out of a severe drought.
Not
so, according to the latest US Drought Monitor report for Oregon.
As
of the report dated March 5, all of the county was still in “severe drought”
conditions, except for a sliver in the extreme western part along the Cascade crest.
However,
the latest report was a dramatic improvement from the one dated January 15 when
nearly the entire county was in “extreme” drought and the small area in the
Cascades was classified as severe.
The
impact of the current snowpack increase thus far has had little significant impact
on regional reservoirs, which rely on Spring runoff to recharge after depletion
during the previous irrigation years. Of the six major reservoirs in the Upper
Deschutes and Crooked River watersheds, all except the smallest, Haystack near
Culver, remained well below levels at this time last year. As of March 12, the snowpack at Three Creeks Snotel monitorin station - at an elevation of 5,698 feet -- was 60 inches, or 120% of the median.
