After hard winter, Oregon snowpack rebounds

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The statewide snowpack for Oregon is 138 percent above normal after a harsh winter that featured plenty of snow and heavy rainfall.

The Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service released numbers Tuesday that also show above-average precipitation statewide.

The last time Oregon's snowpack was well above normal on March 1 was in 2008, when it was 157 percent of normal.

Last year, Oregon's snowpack was 94 percent of normal.

Scott Oviatt, a hydrologist with the USDA, says snow accumulation in February was twice the normal amount at many monitoring locations.

The combined news is a boon for farmers who have struggled with drought recently in much of the state.