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Flaky April builds up snowpack Deficit remains, 'but every little bit helps' By BILL KETTLER Fresh snow in April isn't unheard of in Southern Oregon, but in this unusual winter, it's starting to feel downright normal. Four inches of snow fell on Mount Ashland by noon Friday, giving die-hard skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers another excuse to head for the high country over the weekend. Three weeks of spring storms have padded winter's meager snowpack, but snow depths are still far below normal for mid-April. In Southern Oregon, mountain snow usually melts faster in April than it accumulates. But this year, some high-elevation sites that had barely 35 percent of the average snowpack at the end of March have nearly 60 percent of average snow depth for mid-April. "I've seen this happen before," said Steve Johnson, a snow ranger for the Rogue River National Forest. "It's not common, but it's happened." Average snowpack for the combined Rogue and Umpqua basins stood at 47 percent of normal on Friday, compared to about 25 percent at the end of March. "Obviously the first half of April's been very good to us," said state climatologist George Taylor. "Clearly it's too little too late for any chance of making up (the deficit), but every little bit helps." Taylor said April's persistent wet weather reminded him of the wet spring of 1993, which followed a dry, cold winter. Drought fears surfaced as winter ended, but the wet spring yielded enough moisture to eliminate water supply problems during the summer. In Southern Oregon, snow is spotty in the Cascades around 5,000 feet, but at higher elevations it increased substantially over the past three weeks. At Crater Lake National Park, the snowpack Friday measured 50 inches - far below the 112-inch average for April 20, but a considerable improvement over the 38 inches on the ground at the end of March. April storms brought enough snow to increase Crater Lake's snowpack from 31 percent of average at the end of March to about 45 percent by mid-April, said Roger Gerig, a weather service specialist for the National Weather Service in Medford. Although the late-season snow has increased the snowpack, it may disappear faster when the seasons finally turn. "Snow that accumulates over time packs down and gets dense," said Chris Park, a hydrologist for the Siskiyou National Forest. "New snow doesn't have that density, and it melts faster." Friday's storm might be the last for a while, said Gerig. Forecasters were expecting drier weather for the weekend, with temperatures climbing into the 60s on Sunday and 70s by Monday, and no moisture on the horizon before Wednesday or Thursday. "That new snow might not last very long," Gerig said. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.