If the mild winter down here has you nervous about the water year ahead in North Idaho, look on the up side.

As in up in the mountains.

Mountain snowpack offers some hope.

The state's snow-measuring sites in the region range from 74 percent to 120 percent of average.

"The Idaho Panhandle snowpack had the best snow in the state throughout the winter," said Ron Abramovich, a water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. "The storm track in January benefited southern Idaho the most. Now, the snowpack across the whole state is in good shape and should provide enough runoff to meet the numerous water user needs this summer."

According to the state's recent report, North Idaho seasonal streamflow forecasts are expected to be near average and about 85 percent in the St. Joe and Coeur d'Alene river basins. That bodes well for recreation.

Snow water content at Lost Lake on the St. Joe and Spokane river divide is 74 percent of average. Humboldt Gulch in the Coeur d'Alene drainage is 120 percent of average and the Lookout ski area, also in the Coeur d'Alene drainage, is 88 percent of average.

Statewide, the water supply outlook for the summer was enhanced by late-January storms, Abramovich said.

"The transformation in Idaho's snowpack in the second half of January was amazing," he said. "In some places snowfall was measured in feet and not inches."

But snowfall over the next two months will be as critical, he said.

"The long-term climate forecasts still predict La Nina conditions will bring above average precipitation to the Pacific Northwest for the next several months," Abramovich said.

"Those storms will be needed to push snowpack percentages back up and ensure a healthy 2012 water supply for Idaho."