Latest storm pushes Crater Lake season snowfall over 600 inches

NATIONAL PARKS — A storm dumping 9 inches of snow on Oregon’s western mountains Tuesday brought the total snowfall at Crater Lake National Park to  615 inches, with more expected before the end of the season.

The normal amount of snowfall through April 26 is 492 inches and this season’s total is already well above the park’s average snowfall through May of 524 inches.

The last time the park measured more than 600 inches of snow was the winter of 1998-99, when the total was 674 inches.

The snowpack at park headquarters on Tuesday  was 144 inches deep — an even 12 feet — good news for Klamath Basin irrigators and wetlands this summer.