Snowpack, Water and Drought: What’s Up with the Weather

We’ll look at early seasonal outlooks for this winter and see how analog years are selected and used to help predict what may happen. We’ll discuss Idaho’s drought status across the nation, and some of the extreme weather events of this year. We’ll look at temperature trends, increases in US natural disasters, and acres burned in Idaho to better understand the weather we are seeing and living in.

We’ll also discuss snow and streamflow relationships that have been used to predict runoff volumes and timing of snowmelt peak flows. The key is if the past can still be used to predict the future in a changing climate and greater degree of climatic variability that we are seeing.

About Ron Abramovich:

Ron graduated from Colorado State University with a BS degree in Watershed Sciences in 1986. Worked for the USGS in southern Colorado chasing thunderstorms to collect runoff samples for the expansion of Fort Carson military base. Moved to Telluride, Colorado for the winter and met his wife Janice, a ski coach. In May 1988 he accepted a full-time job and moved to Salt Lake City to work for the USDA Soil Conservation Service Snow Survey Office.

In August of 1991, the Idaho Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Snow Survey Office advertised the first ever Water Supply Specialist position. Ron applied, got it and the best job anyone could have.

He worked as Idaho’s Snow Survey Water Supply Specialist from 1991 to 2019 providing snow survey and water supply information to the many users that rely on Idaho’s annual snowfall and water supply. His work took him to the pretest locations in Idaho to check the snowpack. His work with end users across the state provided him with a better understanding of Idaho's complex hydrology and the decision information needed to wisely manage and use water as a natural resource.

Follow Ron’s other presentations here. https://snowweatherandflow.blog/

Host or Publisher Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology