This article was published on: 01/23/12 12:00 AM

How low is the snow?

It’s about 38 percent of average, but ‘there is still time for recovery’

A dry end to 2011 left a low snowpack around the Deschutes and Crooked rivers basin, prompting the Natural Resources Conservation Service to warn Tuesday of possible water shortages come summer. As of Tuesday, the basin’s snowpack was 38 percent of average for this time of year, said Melissa Webb, a hydrologist for the agency in Portland. But with the basin’s five reservoirs holding about 75 percent of capacity and more storms likely this winter, “it is still early, and there still is time for recovery,” Webb said.

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