Idaho Water Outlook A Mixed Bag

(AP) - Idaho climate experts say some record-setting weather in March has put the state's rivers and aquifers in great shape heading into summer. National Weather Service meteorologist Jay Breidenbach said Thursday March storms saturated central and northern Idaho. But they largely avoided much of the state's southern half. The disparity in precipitation is among the starkest weather experts have seen, causing avalanches and mudslides in the Panhandle while leaving rangeland near the Nevada border dusty. Southern Idaho basins like the Bear River recorded snowpack reductions, but reservoirs are still healthy thanks to carryover from last year. The Panhandle got too much of a good thing, with record-breaking rains heightening flood risk. But Breidenbach says the Idaho's water supply is robust overall and drought concerns from recent years have all but evaporated.