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Heavy snowpack levels yield positive results for drought-stricken counties

Map showing Oregon snowpack levels as of March 27, 2023.
National Water and Climate Center
/
USDA
A map showing Oregon snowpack levels as of March 27, 2023.

Snow is continuing to accumulate at higher-than-normal levels in Oregon’s mountains. The build-up may aid the state in recovering from drought.

As spring continues, the snow and ice that remains on Oregon’s higher elevations is melting into runoff that could help refill reservoirs and streams, and rejuvenate forests and vegetation.

“To make up for that water deficit, what we really need is above normal snowpack," said Matt Warbritton, a spokesperson for the Oregon Snow Survey. "Right now, that’s what we’re seeing. So we’re hoping that continues; we can never hope for too much snow.”

As of Monday, much of the Cascades were at nearly 140 percent of normal snowpack levels for this time of year. Parts of eastern Oregon were as high as 180 percent of normal.

Jasmine Lewin was a freelance reporter in 2022 and 2023. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Lewin wrote for the University of Oregon quarterly magazine Ethos before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
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