At the Bonneville Dam, Columbia River spring chinook are as scarce as they’ve been in 56 years. The main culprits are drought and predation by sea lions. Officials speculate that the run may be late because the drought-starved Columbia streamflow is just 65 percent of normal.
Meanwhile, Washington’s snowpack is growing with all the recent wet weather. It’s almost as deep now as it was at this time in 2001 (the most recent drought year), though it’s still far below normal. Incidentally, only a week or two remain to accumulate snowpack. In normal years, snow tends to begin a net melting by mid-April. Here’s a look at the chart…
