Sean C. Morgan
April showers may bring May flowers, but this year, January forest fires apparently bring February snow and ice storms and massive rain.
After three weeks of nearly constant precipitation, Foster and Green Peter lakes, as well as other U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Willamette Valley reservoirs, are way ahead of their filling schedules.
In the last couple of weeks, the 13 Willamette reservoirs went from nearly empty to 63 percent full, the difference between normal winter pools and summer elevations, said Spokesman Scott Clemans. “We only started refilling our reservoirs on Feb. 1.”
Overall, the reservoirs are about 28 percent fuller than Corps officials would prefer, Clemans said.
As of Feb. 17, the Corps had recorded 13.5 inches of rainfall in 2014 at Foster Dam. As of Feb. 18, 2013, the Corps recorded only 6.05 inches of rain for the year at the same location.
“We were kind of stuck in a pattern with a southwestern flow,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Miles Higa. It was a sort of “Pineapple Express.”
Rain came in waves every other day, Higa said. That pattern has moved on, and this week, a much weaker system will bring about a 50-percent chance of rain.
Looking at Eugene data, the area was down just .08 inches Friday, Higa said. Eugene has accumulated 7.5 inches so far this year.
But the water year, which begins on Oct. 1, remains dry, 8.38 inches below normal, 21.62 inches.
This followed a relatively dry fall. Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, the Corps recorded 8.49 inches of rain. Combined, from Oct. 1 to Feb. 24, the Corps recorded 24.32 inches, which lags behind the previous year.
From Jan. 1 to Feb. 24, 2013, the Corps recorded 7.67 inches of rain, while from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2012, the Corps recorded 25.29 inches