View Full Version : Washington state snowpack at 17% of normal
Washington state snowpack at 17% of normal on May 1st.
http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2015/05/washington-state-snow-pack-at-17.html
Low snow is not to be confused with no snow.... Last year was a low snow year in the Sierra too and there was more snow than I had seen in my life x 1,000,000. Deep snow, and lots of it.
As a Southerner, I shudder to think what a high snow year would look like.
LOL Being born in Wyoming I have a lot of funny concepts like that. My idea of hot was like 85 degs when I was 18. And it was not cold until it was like -20 degs. I used to spend hours outside playing when I was a kid when it was like zero and hardly noticed it. My dad used to take me camping when it was way below zero and it was just normal to me. I had absolutely no idea what a real rainstorm was like - could not believe it the first monsoon rain I was in in the jungle. I thought I was going to drown. Where I grew up the wind hit at least 20mph every day and sometimes it would blow at 35-45 for literally days without stopping. Now where I live if a breeze starts up it is prominently mentioned on the tv weather.
BTW that big storm a few days ago that hit southern CA and AZ and parts east supposedly dumped 4-5 feet on Forrester Pass in the southern Sierras. I read a journal entry that said folks were turning back who tried to hike it because the snow was 10 feet deep. But I think (someone might correct me here) is that it at least used to be common to have to snowshoe and carry an ice axe in the southern Sierras early in the year. Just like they have to often do on the CDT in the San Juans (which also got big snows with the last few storms). I expect we will see lots of interesting journal entries over the next week or two.
Feral Bill
05-20-2015, 22:04
It's looking scary here. Hoping for frequent rains through the summer.
"Statewide, snowpack levels are currently 16 percent of normal, ten percent lower than the last time a statewide drought emergency was declared in 2005. Of 98 snow sites measured at the beginning of the month by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/wa/snow/waterproducts/?cid=stelprdb1265591)(NRCS), 66 were snow free — 11 of them for the first time in history. Along with record low snowpack, the NRCS found that 17 of 34 long-term measuring sites recorded their earliest peak on record, occurring on average 48 days earlier than normal.“This drought is unlike any we’ve ever experienced,” Maia Bellon, director of the Washington Department of Ecology, said (http://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/governor-declares-statewide-drought-emergency). “Rain amounts have been normal but snow has been scarce. And we’re watching what little snow we have quickly disappear.”"
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/18/3659911/washington-drought-emergency-declared/
kevperro
05-25-2015, 18:18
I just hiked 12-miles on the PCT and connecting trails just south of Stevens Pass. I'm sure there will still be some challenging spots but to be able to do any distance this early in the year above 4500ft is pretty amazing. I expect the fire season is going to be pretty ugly unless we get unusually high precipitation through the summer.
The good news.... my summer hiking season has just been extended by at least 6-weeks.
Sasquatch!
05-29-2015, 03:52
NOAA predicts it will be hot and dry here in WA. I really cant take drought talk seriously in WA having seen it in CA.
We've had near normal precip, just some special conditions that led to an early melting of the snowpack. Western WA is not in bad shape.
See Cliff Mass' blog.
Vegan Packer
06-06-2015, 00:45
Thanks. Going to Northern Cascades, Olympic and Mount Rainier in end of July to beginning of August. I don't want any fires to ruin things, but I don't exactly want to sit around in the wet, either. I hope that I selected the right time to go. :eek:
Shutterbug
06-06-2015, 02:18
Thanks. Going to Northern Cascades, Olympic and Mount Rainier in end of July to beginning of August. I don't want any fires to ruin things, but I don't exactly want to sit around in the wet, either. I hope that I selected the right time to go. :eek:
That is good timing. You will have a great time. If you have questions about the trails in Olympic or Mt. Rainier, I will answer. I am less familiar with the Northern Cascades. Gig Harbor, where I live, is between Olympic National Park and Mt. Rainier National Park. I hike in both of them.
Traveler
06-06-2015, 06:58
As a quick suggestion, the Hidden Lake hike has a wonderful small fire watch cabin at the top (first arrival is who gets to sleep there daily) and some nice camping spots just below the summit. Its starts just outside the NCNP but meanders into the edge of it on the way up. Perhaps some of the best views in the southern quadrant of the park.
Vegan Packer
06-06-2015, 17:19
Plans include Mount Baker via Park Butte, Railroad Grade, Scott Paul loop in North Cascades (two days); Enchanted Valley in Olympic (4 days); and Spray Park - Seattle Park loop from Mowich Lake in Mount Rainier (four days). My reservation for camp sites in Mount Rainier just arrived this week. I feel like I won the lotto on that one, given how many applications they receive. Can't wait to hit Wonderland! :D
Traveler
06-07-2015, 16:39
Seattle Park is a great place, be sure to find the unmarked trail that goes up to Echo Rock.
Shutterbug
06-07-2015, 21:02
Plans include Mount Baker via Park Butte, Railroad Grade, Scott Paul loop in North Cascades (two days); Enchanted Valley in Olympic (4 days); and Spray Park - Seattle Park loop from Mowich Lake in Mount Rainier (four days). My reservation for camp sites in Mount Rainier just arrived this week. I feel like I won the lotto on that one, given how many applications they receive. Can't wait to hit Wonderland! :D
Four days for the Spray Park, Seattle Park loop will give you time for some exploring. That is a good choice. That is a great hike for a variety of wildlife. You are likely to see black bears, marmots, elk, mountain goats and a variety of smaller animals.
Feral Bill
06-07-2015, 23:17
Just drove across the Cascades. Just patches on higher peaks visible, plus Glaciers, of course.
Vegan Packer
06-08-2015, 13:43
Psyched! I've been cooking and dehydrating around the clock. Can't wait to finish this last big chore, and then I am ready.
Shutterbug
06-10-2015, 22:15
Plans include Mount Baker via Park Butte, Railroad Grade, Scott Paul loop in North Cascades (two days); Enchanted Valley in Olympic (4 days); and Spray Park - Seattle Park loop from Mowich Lake in Mount Rainier (four days). My reservation for camp sites in Mount Rainier just arrived this week. I feel like I won the lotto on that one, given how many applications they receive. Can't wait to hit Wonderland! :D
I had my first visit of the year to Mt Rainier. I hiked a few miles on the Wonderland around Sunrise. There is still snow above 6,500 feet. The trail was clear and dry below 6,500. All of the streams are flowing. I don't anticipate any water shortage on the north side of the mountain. The melt out is about what I would expect for mid-August.
I hoped to get a report from someone thru-hiking the Wonderland, but I didn't see any hikers. In fact, I didn't see anyone venturing beyond one mile from the Sunrise parking lot. I stopped by the Sunrise backcountry camp. It was empty.