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NRCS: Utah snowpack in 'uncharted territory,' many basins forecast well below average
Summary
Jordan Clayton of the NRCS told the Utah Board of Water Resources on March 18 that statewide snow-water equivalent and runoff forecasts are at or near historic lows, with many SNOTEL sites in the bottom 15% of observations and recommendations for conservative water planning.
Jordan Clayton, supervisor of the Utah Snow Survey at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, told the Utah Board of Water Resources on March 18 that statewide snow-water-equivalent has fallen to unusually low levels and that many basins face below-average runoff this spring.
"We are in uncharted territory," Clayton said, noting that the statewide curve is "dipping below the previous range of observations." He reported a statewide snow-water-equivalent that he summarized as roughly 57% of normal but emphasized that many individual SNOTEL sites fall in the bottom 15% of their period-of-record observations.
Clayton said the state-wide snowpack likely already hit its seasonal peak at about 8.4 inches of water equivalent, "a little less than 2 inches below the previous record," and…
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