US Northwest river runoff down to 88 pct — NWRFC

Oct 5 (Reuters) — Projected water runoff at The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River in Oregon fell to 88 percent of normal for January-July, the U.S. Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) said on Monday. That is down from the prior forecast of 89 percent of normal. See NWRFC. In the 2026 water year, actual runoff at The Dalles from January to July was 90 percent. The Dalles is the next-to-last dam on the Columbia River and a key point to measure the volume of water available for power generation in the Northwest, which receives about 65 percent of its power from hydroelectric dams. Portland, Oregon-based NWRFC is an arm of the National Weather Service (NWS), which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For additional analysis, see Thomson Reuters Analytics for North American natural gas at and North American power at The following table shows the latest NWRFC forecasts for the 2027 water year versus the actual runoff in 2026 as a percentage. The water year started on.