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As of December first, the Boise Airport had received 4.93 inches of precipitation for the year. The driest year in the 135 year Boise record was 1966 with an annual total of 6.64 inches. December precipitation for Boise ranges from a dry single one hundredth of an inch in the city in 1877 to a wet 5.96 inches in 1871. If Boise receives a station average of 1.38 inches in December, the annual total for 2002 would be 6.31 inches, setting a new record for driest year.
As noted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of USDA:
the lack of summer and fall precipitation, coupled with the dry start to the new water year, have significantly impacted Idaho's water supplies. Several Idaho streams were at or near record low flows, and most reservoir storage levels were extremely low, for early November.
Several wet snow years are needed to fill reservoirs, recharge soil moisture, springs, and wetlands, said Ron Abramovich , NRCS water supply specialist. "It took three years of below normal snowfall to get to this critical point in the drought, and it may take several years to get us out. Near normal or better snowpacks are needed by April 1 to provide adequate irrigation water next summer."
ID-news_release_nov02.pdf
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