Dry Conditions Pt 1 But, according to University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences professor Cliff Mass, it’s no reason to panic … MASS … “The snowpack is in excellent shape right now for much of the region. In fact, in some places really good. I mean, I’m looking at it right now, it’s the SNOTEL. On the Western side, it ranges from 112% to 189% of normal.” So, how did we arrive at plenty of snowpack yet drought conditions? MASS … “This was a La Nina year. And so, the snowpack was above normal during the winter, which is pretty La Nina’esque. And, even the pattern that’s drying us out is La Nina’esque because La Nina is often associated with enhanced ridging and high pressure in the Eastern Pacific and a lot of Northwesterly flow which sometimes can be dry, but it often brings a lot of snow to the mountains and that’s basically what happened.”