Extreme to Severe Drought Conditions Continue in Wyoming

Extreme to severe drought conditions continue to exist for several drainage basins throughout the Cowboy State.

That's according to a Natural Resources and Conversation Service report released Friday afternoon.

According to the report, several streams in central and southern Wyoming are seeing below normal baseflows. As a result of that, there is a "good chance" that runoff will happen earlier than normal and streamflows will be below average.

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Meanwhile, runoff volumes are expected to be near average for drainages in far western and northern Wyoming and below average for the rest of the state.

The NRCS says snowpack in Wyoming for several basins east of the continental divide is similar to that of 2012 and 2013. At that time, runoff volumes were at their lowest in the past decade.

And, despite having 120 to near 180 percent of average precipitation totals for February, much of Wyoming is still below average for annual precipitation levels.

The report also states that reservoirs across Wyoming are everaging at 75% of their capacity. At this time last year, that number was at 110% of average.

Finally, the report says the latest aspring outlook indicates that there will be a warmer than average and drier than average spring. That's particularly true heading into late spring and early summer.

There is still a great deal of uncertainty in final snowmelt runoff volume forecasts thanks to the uncertainty of the timing and amount of spring precipitation, the report says. Many locations east of the continental divide get more than half of their annual precipitation in late March through early June.