WINTERSPORTS -- The snow level at Crater Lake National Park was at a record low for this time of year -- and nearly 80 percent below average.

Park Ranger Dave Grimes told the Medford Mail Tribune that the official snow depth at park headquarters was 28 inches Thursday. The previous record low was 31 inches set back in 1977.

Records show the average snow depth for Feb. 26 is 110 inches.

The park is actually at 104 percent of its average precipitation for this time of the year. But warmer temperatures have caused much of that moisture to fall as rain rather than snow.

Elswhere in the Pacific Northwest, the snow pack is low, but experts say there's still time for recovery:

• Snowpack in the mountains that feed Lake Chelan was 63 percent of average Monday, down 20 points from early February, mostly because adequate precipitation has fallen as rain instead of snow.  Lake Chelan is about four feet higher than normal for this time of year.
• Canadian Columbia Basin snowpack is at 90 percent of average this week. Runoff into the Columbia at Grand Coulee Dam is forecast at 85 percent of average during the peak runoff season of April to July. The outlook isn’t officially considered "dry" until the snowpack dips below 80 percent of average.