Mountain snowpack improves

But levels still at record lows

Montana's mountain snowpack gained 7 percent on average in March, the state's wettest month since last October.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that statewide precipitation for March was 9 percent above average, providing a considerable snowpack boost for most Montana mountain ranges.

But the snowpack above every river basin still lags far behind last year's measurements and the 30-year historic average.

As of April 1, mountain snow water content measurements statewide were 60 percent of average and 76 percent of last year.

West of the Continental Divide, snowpack was 53 percent of average and 66 percent of last year. East of the Divide, snowpack was 67 percent of average and 90 percent of last year.

The Missouri River basin had the biggest gains, about 19 percent, in overall snowpack.

The Flathead and Kootenai basins recovered roughly 10 percent during March.

But the Flathead basin's snowpack is currently at 57 percent of average and 72 percent of last year, marks that represent record lows for the basin on April 1. The Upper Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Lower Clark Fork, Sun-Teton-Marias and St. Mary river basins are also at record lows.

The Kootenai basin's snowpack is tied with a previous record low, at 53 percent of average and 63 percent of last year's measurements.

"One point we have over this time last year is that the mountain snowpack has not had significant melt and it continues to accumulate," said Roy Kaiser, water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bozeman.

However, with the snowfall season almost over, spring and summer streamflows will depend on the timing of rainfall and melting snow. According to Kaiser, without above-average spring and summer rain, there will be surface water shortages across the state.

"Water users and water managers need to plan for very low streamflows unless Montana gets into a wet storm pattern," Kaiser said.

Through July, the Flathead River basin's streamflow forecast is 50 percent to 54 percent of average while the Kootenai River basin forecast is 57 percent to 64 percent of average.

Specific forecast probabilities are available on the Internet at: http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov