NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Winter storms boost Northwest snowpack
State’s snow water
equivalent jumps
to 79% of normal
after recent storms
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
PORTLAND — It may have
taken a bit longer than usual, but
snow is finally starting to fly in
the mountains across Oregon and
Washington.
That is good news for farmers
and ranchers who depend on ample
snowpack to replenish streams and
fill reservoirs heading into the sum-
mer irrigation season.
In just two weeks, Oregon’s
snow water equivalent — the
amount of water contained within
snowpack — has jumped from
45% of normal to 79% of normal
statewide, thanks to recent winter
storms dumping several feet of new
snow in places like Mount Hood
and Santiam Junction in the Cas-
cade Range, and Emigrant Springs
in the Blue Mountains of Northeast
Oregon.
The biggest improvement has
come in the Hood, Sandy and
Lower Deschutes basins, which
were at 26% of normal snowpack
on Dec. 30, 2019, and are now at
90% of normal as of Jan. 14. The
Willamette Basin also increased
from 26% to 83%, and the Uma-
tilla, Walla Walla and Willow
basins rose from 43% to 89%.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Semitrucks travel along Interstate 84 amid the snow-covered Blue Mountains outside of Meacham last week.
In just two weeks, Oregon’s snow water equivalent — the amount of water contained within snowpack — has
jumped from 45% of normal to 79% of normal statewide, thanks to recent winter storms dumping several feet
of new snow in places like Mount Hood and Santiam Junction in the Cascade Range, and Emigrant Springs in the
Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon.
cally one of the wettest months of
the year, set records for lowest pre-
cipitation at 34 out of 90 snowpack
telemetry sites monitored by the
agency.
“The next three months will be
critical in determining water sup-
plies for the summer,” the NRCS
reported.
So far, so good as Old Man Win-
ter has returned with a vengeance
in January.
Hydrologists with the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation
Service calculate “percent of nor-
mal” by measuring the current
snowpack against a 30-year aver-
age from 1981-2010.
The NRCS released its first Ore-
gon Water Supply Outlook Report
for 2020 on Jan. 9. At the time it
was published, the state was grap-
pling with an especially dry start to
the water year — November, typi-
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Last year saw something simi-
lar unfold in Oregon. With snow-
pack lagging into February, a series
of storms pummeled the mountains
and boosted snow water equivalent
by 20-30%. Coupled with a heavy
rains in April, conditions offered
a much-needed reprieve from
drought.
Snowpack is a crucial source of
water for farms, especially in East-
ern Oregon where it rains far less
Snow cuts communications at Crater Lake
By LEE JUILLERAT
For EO Media Group
Mostly cloudy and
cold
Chilly with periods
of sun
36° 25°
38° 31°
Cloudy, a bit of
snow; chilly
Chilly with high
clouds
Cloudy and chilly
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
39° 31°
40° 28°
42° 31°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
36° 27°
39° 31°
40° 31°
42° 31°
OREGON FORECAST
44° 34°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
41/31
35/23
35/18
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
36/26
Lewiston
38/33
36/27
Astoria
43/32
Pullman
Yakima 35/22
42/31
37/25
Portland
Hermiston
40/33
The Dalles 36/27
Salem
Corvallis
40/30
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
39/19
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
41/31
35/20
41/20
Ontario
43/24
Caldwell
Burns
29°
14°
41°
28°
63° (1961) -10° (1950)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
39/32
Trace
0.13"
0.62"
0.13"
0.18"
0.62"
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
40/27
Fri.
WNW 4-8
WSW 6-12
SSW 3-6
S 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
35/17
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:32 a.m.
4:38 p.m.
none
11:13 a.m.
Last
New
First
Full
Jan 17
Jan 24
Feb 1
Feb 8
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 89° in Falfurrias, Texas Low -33° in Rudyard, Mont.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
50s
ice
60s
cold front
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Copyright © 2020, EO Media Group
CRATER LAKE —
Heavy snow has temporar-
ily cut off communications at
Crater Lake National Park.
Telephone and internet ser-
vice have been out at the park
since early Monday morning
with no estimate on when ser-
vice might be restored. The
road from park headquar-
ters to Rim Village has been
closed since Friday. The Rim
Café and Gift Shop at Rim
Village have also been closed.
Sean Denniston, the
park’s management assistant,
had no estimate on when
the road to the rim will be
reopened because crews are
concentrating on keeping the
road from the South Entrance
on Highway 62 from Fort
Klamath and Klamath Falls
open to park headquarters in
Munson Valley. Some park
staff live in park housing near
Munson Valley.
“Hopefully, it’s not too
extended,” Denniston said
of the telephone and inter-
net outages, which has led to
some employees working at
home. Staff and their families
living in the park are affected
because most do not have sat-
ellite internet.
Only one lane from
Fort Klamath to the South
Entrance and Munson Valley
was open Tuesday morning,
but crews were working to
widen the road Tuesday after-
noon. Kirsten Harden, the
park’s chief of management
facilities, said crews are oper-
ating two snowplows, two
snowblowers and a grader.
“Knock on wood, every-
thing is running,” Harden said
Tuesday afternoon.
Highway 62 from Pros-
pect and the Rogue Valley to
Crater Lake’s south entrance
was closed earlier this week
because of fallen trees and
heavy snow and was still
closed Tuesday afternoon
with no estimates on when the
road might be reopened.
Harden reported it had
snowed 56 inches at the park
headquarters weather station
since Jan. 8.
“The message is be pre-
pared for winter conditions,”
Denniston said of people
planning to visit the park. He
emphasized the need for cau-
tion, noting, “Because many
people tend not to be ade-
quately preparing, our con-
cern is for visitors who don’t
have experience driving in
the snow.”
Because of the telephone
and internet outages, the usual
information sources, calling
the park’s visitor center and
checking the park’s website
about road conditions are not
available. People who do visit
are always advised during
winter months to have have
vehicles with chains and/or
traction tires, and to carry
shovels and adequate clothing
along with food and water.
WINDS (in mph)
44/27
34/11
Trace
0.60"
0.81"
0.60"
0.12"
0.81"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 39/16
40/32
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
36/25
37/26
39°
20°
41°
27°
68° (1974) -8° (1907)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
39/30
Aberdeen
35/22
31/17
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
39/32
than it does west of the Cascades.
As snow melts, it trickles down
into creeks and rivers, sustaining
healthy stream flows while provid-
ing irrigation supplies for crops and
livestock.
While the latest snowstorms are
an encouraging sign, there is still a
long way left to go.
Scott Oviatt, snow survey super-
visor for the NRCS in Portland,
said conditions are a vast improve-
ment over the end of December,
when stream flows were just 53%
of normal. But he said it remains to
be seen what the next three months
will bring.
“Those are the questions that are
still out there,” Oviatt said.
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s Cli-
mate Prediction Center continues
to forecast a higher probability of
above-normal temperatures over
the next three months across most
of Oregon and Washington, along
with an equal chance of high or low
precipitation.
Washington’s snowpack was
similarly bleak at the start of the
new year, at just 47% of normal
statewide. It too has rebounded dra-
matically, up to 88% as of Jan. 14.
The South Puget Sound, Lower
Yakima, Lower Snake, Spokane
and Upper Columbia basins are all
at or near average for snow water
equivalent, after they were no
higher than 65% of normal a few
weeks ago. Like Oregon, SNOTEL
sites in Washington have experi-
enced several feet of new snow in
the Cascades.
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high low
BRIEFLY
Man accused of stealing
thousands of irrigation elbows
Bend man who shot, killed
woman sentenced to 9 years
WALLA WALLA, Wash. — A Walla
Walla man is accused of stealing $6,720 in
irrigation elbows and selling them as scrap
metal.
Joseph A. Goins, 55, was charged with
first-degree trafficking stolen property and
first-degree stolen property possession Friday
after officers learned of the irrigation elbows
being sold for scrap at Stubblefield Salvage &
Recycling.
Officers found the reportedly missing
items from Nelson Irrigation, records stated.
Goins allegedly sold 24 pounds one day for
$23.50 and 47 pounds another day for $47.
Nelson Irrigation reported the retail value
of the elbows at $1.68 each, and 4,000 of the
parts were missing.
The 11th Avenue salvage company
recorded Goins’ identification from his driv-
er’s license, records stated. He was arrested on
Dec. 30, 2019, records stated, after an officer
contacted at his home and he refused to tell the
officer where from he got the elbows and said
“he should just arrest him.”
A later search of his home and vehicle
found a box of new irrigation elbows and
receipts from Stubblefield Salvage & Recy-
cling, as well as Walla Walla Recycling,
records stated.
Goins’ arraignment has been scheduled for
Jan. 27.
BEND — A Bend man who fatally shot
a Sisters woman at his apartment during
their first date was sentenced on Tuesday to
nine years in prison.
KTVZ-TV reported Alan Peter Porci-
ello, 37, also was sentenced to a year post-
prison supervision by Deschutes County
Circuit Judge Wells Ashby in the Jan. 12,
2019, killing of Jenny Cashwell.
Porciello originally was charged with
first-degree manslaughter and pleaded
guilty to second-degree manslaughter.
The two met on an online dating site and
exchanged messages before agreeing to go
hiking. Cashwell picked up Porciello and
drove to the Pine Nursery Trail, returning
several hours later. Cashwell had texted a
friend during the outing, saying she didn’t
expect to have a second date.
In a court filing, Porciello was quoted as
telling 911 dispatchers he had shot Cash-
well in the chest and that he was “being
facetious, acting like I was going to shoot
her, and accidentally did.”
He apologized in court, saying he takes
“100 percent blame” for the shooting and
that he “broke the governing rule of respon-
sible gun ownership” — always treat a gun
as if it’s loaded.
— The Associated Press and
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
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