Conditions continued to deteriorate in the region with degradations made across southern Oregon, Northern California, southwestern Montana, northwestern Wyoming, and New Mexico. Despite some precipitation falling across the mountain ranges of the region this week, the snowpack conditions remain extremely poor with the remaining snowpack primarily restricted to the highest elevations. In Colorado, NRCS is reporting statewide SWE at the lowest on record. Historically, median peak SWE in Colorado occurs on April 8, however, this year peak SWE occurred on March 8. In Washington state, the Department of Ecology issued a statewide emergency drought declaration as projected water supplies are expected to be well below normal levels. In the Colorado River Basin, Lake Powell is 24% full, while Lake Mead is 33% full, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Across areas of the Far West, very dry conditions were observed during the past 30-day period (March 7 to April 7), with record to near-record dryness at the following locations: Eugene, OR (10th driest; -2.57 inches); Medford, OR (9th driest; -1.38 inches); Crescent City, CA (2nd driest; -5.58 inches); Mount Shasta, CA (driest on record; -5.35 inches); San Francisco, CA (5th driest; -2.34 inches); Santa Cruz (driest on record; -3.13 inches); Monterey, CA (3rd driest; -2.8 inches), and San Diego, CA (driest on record; -1.24 inches).
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