Drought conditions intensify in western Nevada, Sierras

Reno Gazette-Journal

Published April 26, 2007 at midnight

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RENO, Nev. - A lackluster winter and higher than normal temperatures are causing significant drought conditions in western Nevada and the Sierra, experts said.

While urban water needs in the Reno area will be adequate thanks to two previous wet winters and reservoir storage on the Truckee River, drought conditions in the high country and outlying regions will be severe, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Such conditions are expected to persist or intensify, the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration forecast said in its latest seasonal outlook.

"It's pretty nasty indeed," said Mark Svoboda, a climatologist for the Nebraska-based drought center, said of conditions taking shape across the West.

This year's dismal winter finished with a Sierra snowpack less than half of what it should be. Dry conditions were exacerbated by above normal temperatures this spring that led to an early, rapid snowmelt.

That means less water will flow from a melting snowpack into the region's rivers and streams during the remainder of the spring and early summer.

According to recent projections by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, stream runoff in the Lake Tahoe Basin is expected to be 26 percent of normal. Runoff in the Carson River Basin could drop as low as 18 percent, the lowest in the state.

"It's really dry. The runoff won't be much," said federal watermaster Garry Stone. "As a matter of fact, it will be very little."

"We've already seen it dry enough to burn all winterlong in most places," said Mike Dondero, fire management officer for the Nevada Division of Forestry."It's really putting the high country . . . at risk of wildfire."

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