Drought persists in North Idaho

A cold and wet February boosted snowpack across Idaho, but North Idaho’s mountains remain below or near normal. 

“Snowpack in the Coeur d’Alene-St. Joe Basin is only 84% of normal and is at the 16th percentile, putting it within the moderate drought category,” the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Idaho Water Supply Outlook on March 1 report said. 

North Idaho and the Wood and Lost basins are still experiencing drought conditions even after the wetter-than-normal February.  

“Wet conditions are needed in March to pull those areas out of drought,” the report said. “Fortunately, the one-month outlook predicts wetter than normal conditions across Idaho in March.” 

The report said streamflow forecasts are near or above normal across Idaho “except in the Panhandle where forecasts reflect the below normal conditions.” 

Dry, unseasonably warm conditions across Idaho are leading to widespread snowmelt during the first few days of March, according to the report.  

“Currently, 44% of Idaho lands are abnormally dry or are in drought. Drought conditions persist in northern Idaho,” the report said.