BEND, OR -- According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, just over 53% of the Pacific Northwest remains in drought, despite recent snowfall. 

Oregon State Climatologist Larry O’Neill says the snowpack is well above normal, but reservoirs outside the Willamette Valley remain very low, “Some basins that are in particular trouble are the Crooked and Deschutes River Basin in Central Oregon, where Prineville and Wickiup and Crescent Lake are well below normal for this time of year. And we’re also running well below what we were at this time last year.” He adds, “There were a lot of irrigation shortages the last couple of summers, and without a lot of precipitation in the remainder of the water year, or wet season, we anticipate those conditions to be an issue as well, going into next summer.” The Owyhee and Malheur River Basin is also dangerously low with reservoirs near empty.

But, O'Neill says recent snowfall should help, "Average over all the snow telemetry stations across Oregon, right now the snow/water equivalent is about 141% of normal and all basins are well above average, so this is great news. The one caveat, of course, is that we’re still very early in the water season and, right now, we’re in the time when we’re building up the snowpack at the largest amount."

Over the next several months, the National Weather Service predicts a typical La Nina pattern of cooler and wetter than average weather.