The primary climatic input to the Palouse Basin's hydrologic system is precipitation, either in the form of rain or snowfall. Other climatic factors include temperature and evaporation/evapotranspiration.
Upper Paradise Creek in winter [G. Grader]
Variability in climatic conditions occurs both spatially (from location to location within the basin) and temporally (seasonally, as well as from year to year). In spatial terms, precipitation generally increases with elevation from west to east across the basin, with the lowest precipitation occurring near Colfax, WA (elevation 1,960 ft; 18 inches mean annual ppt) and the highest precipitation occurring on top of Moscow Mountain (elevation 4,988 ft; 50 inches mean annual ppt) and in the Clearwater Mountains east of Potlatch, ID. Temperature shows the opposite relationship, with a decreasing trend to the east.
The WRCC distributes climate data and information pertaining to the western United States in order to support decision-making and applied climate research at state, regional, and national scales.
Climate station data within the Palouse Basin include:
SNOTEL is an automated telemetry system, managed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), designed to collect snowpack and related climatic data in the Western U.S. and Alaska.
The Palouse Basin has one SNOTEL site, located on Moscow Mountain.
The PRISM Group uses a peer-reviewed method to interpolate climate data based on measurements made at climate stations. Below is a PRISM precipitation distribution map for the Palouse Basin.
The University of Idaho Kimberly Research and Extension Center provides estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) and consumptive irrigation water requirements for the state of Idaho.
Time-series estimates based on different land-cover types are available using climate station data from:
Contact Us: water@uidaho.edu, Water Resources Office 208-885-9694, Morrill Hall, Room 214, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-3002, www.water.uidaho.edu
