The Olympic Mountains’ snowpack should be sufficient enough this summer to keep salmon runs healthy and water supplies filled, forecasters say.
But the snowpack is between 10 percent and 20 percent below normal, and its melting was accelerated by last week’s unusually warm weather.
As a result, people should be conservation-conscious through the summer, said Scott Pattee, head of the Natural Resource Conservation Service snow survey program.
“Snowpack drives water supplies,” Pattee said.
“Any time you have a below-average year, I definitely think we need to be looking at conservation a little more, and kind of stepping up awareness.”
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