The Rogue Valley got a white Christmas when the skies opened up and dumped snow on parts of the region. For several days in a row, in fact. And then... not much.
Yes, it is early in the winter, but a disturbing dry pattern is continuing away from the coast, with precipitation totals already lagging behind January averages. The real story is found at higher elevations, with the snowpack that needs to collect to address our water needs for the dry season.
The federal Natural Resources Conservation Service in the Department of Agriculture keeps the official records on snowpack and surveys of it.
Scott Oviatt, the Supervisory Hydrologist at the NRCS Portland office, returns with the current word on snowpack.