PORT ANGELES — A new water outlook is raising concerns for the Olympic Peninsula, where a lack of mountain snow could lead to lower river flows this summer — especially in the Elwha and Dungeness watersheds.
The latest Washington Water Supply Outlook Report shows the Olympic Basin at just 35 percent of normal snowpack as of April 1. That snowpack is critical, acting as a natural reservoir that feeds rivers through the spring and summer.
Even with a fairly wet winter, much of that precipitation fell as rain instead of snow — creating what experts call a “snow drought.” The result: less stored water in the mountains and less runoff later in the year.
Streamflows for both the Elwha and Dungeness rivers are expected to run at about 60 percent of normal through the spring and summer.
Statewide, snowpack sits at 52 percent of normal, and with peak accumulation season now past, those deficits aren’t expected to recover.
With warmer and drier conditions in the forecast, water supplies across the peninsula could be tighter than usual heading into summer.