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How might current and potential future mountain snowfall accumulations translate into water runoff for parts of the West later in the year? (Rod Bain and USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey)

Transcript

Several Western Mountain ranges at the midway point of the snowpack accumulation season near to below normal average.

What might that mean for water runoff this spring and summer?

Fortunately, we have half of the season ahead of us, so there's still time for improvements.

And USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says with that in mind, the good news is in the short term you do have a wetter pattern developing starting this weekend and on into early February where we do expect precipitation returning across the Northwest extending as far South as Northern California.

So maybe we can write the ship in some of those areas that have kind of fallen down in terms of their snow water equivalencies during the dry January.

The liquid equivalent of snowfall in parts of the Pacific Northwest and its ranges is expected to be anywhere from 5 to 10 inches, and that will include areas as far South as the northern Sierra Nevada.

I'm Rod Bain reporting for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.