Idaho snowpack far below nimral

(AP) — Idaho water officials say snowpack levels across the state are running lower than average this month.

National Resource Conservation Service water supply specialist Ron Abramovich told the Times-News (http://bit.ly/yUVE7F) this is the lowest January snowpack measurement since 1988. Still, he said, there’s still time for snow-dumping storms to replenish the state’s water supply before April.

The agency tracks snowfall to help predict the amount of available water during the summer.

The Upper Snake Basin has 72 percent of its average snowpack level, and the Salmon Falls Basin is at just 43 percent of average. Abramovich says the situation isn’t as dire as it sounds — reservoirs are still full from last year’s wet spring, providing enough of a margin to get the state through a low snowpack year.