SPOKANE (AP) — About 14 percent of the Spokane River basin’s mountain snowpack has melted away in recent weeks because of unseasonably warm nighttime temperatures.
The Spokesman-Review reported that temperatures in the mountains have been 10 to 15 degrees warmer than usual at night.
Researchers say warmer nights are a trend consistent with climate change, and one that could have serious long-term ramifications for Northwest snowpack and summer water supplies.
On Friday, the low temperature at Mullan Pass was 46 degrees, a full 20 degrees warmer than normal for the 6,000-foot-elevation mountain pass near the Idaho-Montana line.