Snowpack conditions still good; runoff expected to be above normal

RBC | While February brought substantially less precipitation to Colorado than the previous two months, snowpack and precipitation accumulations were near normal, leaving us with well above normal snow water equivalent (SWE) and water year precipitation amounts. As of March 1, statewide snowpack was at 139 percent of the 1981-2010 median value. Mountain precipitation across Colorado SNOTEL sites averaged out to be exactly 100 percent of the normal accumulation this February. This forced a drop in the percent of average water year to date precipitation over last month, from 129 to 123 percent, still well above normal values.
Reservoir storage experienced a small net gain over the past month across the state, with only the basins of Southwest Colorado experiencing any loss in storage, relative to normal. Percent of normal storage values range from a low of 91 percent in the upper Rio Grande basin to a high of 127 percent in the combined Yampa, White, and North Platte River basins.
The combined Yampa, White, and North Platte River basins currently hold the lowest snowpack with respect to normal, but are still at a healthy 126 percent of the median.
Runoff this spring and summer is expected to be between 102 percent and 134 percent of average for the Yampa, White and North Platte River basins.