Aided by a significant series of storms starting after Christmas and continuing into the New Year most major basins in the state are now holding well above normal amounts of snow water equivalent (SWE) for this time of year. Currently only the Arkansas and Rio Grande River basins have a[Read More…]
Tag: Snowpack
Snowpack down after dry January
RBC I Following major storms in December, Colorado snowpack looked pretty good, even measuring above average around most of the state. The welcome precipitation broke a “particularly dry” early winter, pushing snowpack to above median levels in some areas of the state. This led experts to project “well above normal”[Read More…]
STATE OF THE SNOWPACK …
Even by Colorado standards, late December storms dumped a LOT of snow, depositing 19 inches of snow water equivalent (SWE) and bringing statewide values for precipitation to 120% and snowpack to 126% of median, including the combined Yampa-White-Little Snake basin at 117% (top left). Despite large amounts of snow, reservoir[Read More…]
Exceptional drought conditions across W. Slope
RBC | April 2021 was “exceptionally dry” according to the latest statistics from the USDA’s National Resource Conservation Service. NRCS Hydrologist Joel Atwood noted “Many SNOTEL sites reported record low precipitation for April west of the Continental Divide. Snowpack has also declined in all basins except the South Platte, due[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Happy Spring
MEEKER | Listening to a recent weather report that said that we have reached ninety percent of our needed snowpack, I realized how much we all take our piles and piles of snow for granted. There is no need to tell any of us that early spring brings our heaviest[Read More…]
White River Basin snowpack at 90%
RBC | Reporting sites for the White River Basin indicate December’s total precipitation at 90% of average and at 81% of last year’s average as of January 2020. Year-to-date precipitation through December is at 73% of average and 100% of last year’s average. Reporting sites for the White River Basin[Read More…]
Snowmelt two and a half weeks behind normal schedule
RBC | Spring and summer conditions are emerging slowly in Colorado’s high country. Highlighting one snapshot of these conditions, mountain snowpack monitoring stations across Colorado observed an average increase of 1.4 inches of snow water equivalent, equal to about one foot or more of snow depth, from one storm system[Read More…]
Flat Tops snowpack could cause flooding issues later this summer
RBC | It’s going to be awhile before summer comes to the Flat Tops. According to RBC Road and Bridge Director Dave Morlan, there’s still five feet of snow at the top of Ripple Creek. “We’re working to get those passes open,” he said during Tuesday’s commissioner meeting in Meeker.[Read More…]
Snowpack still above average
RBC | March snowpack improvements showcase the impressive changes but equally noteworthy are current snowpack totals for the water year beginning on Oct. 1. Snowpack observation points within the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan combined basins indicate 157% of median, while snowpack in the Gunnison, Arkansas, Rio Grande[Read More…]
SNOWPACK …
River basins in the area continue to report above average snowpack, with the White River basin at 120 percent of normal, Laramie, North Platte, and Yampa basins at 106 percent, and the Little Snake river basin at 107 percent. For the most up to date information about Colorado snowpack and[Read More…]
More snow needed to make up last year’s deficits
RBC | After a below normal December, Colorado’s snowpack is approaching a pivotal point during the winter. Snowpack in the Yampa, White and North Platte basins is above normal at 104 percent of the median.Precipitation for December was 64 percent of average and water year-to-date precipitation is 101 percent of average.[Read More…]
Snowpack falls below normal
RBC | Snowpack in the Yampa, White and North Platte river basins is below normal at 86 percent of the median. Precipitation for March was 53 percent of average and water year-to-date precipitation is 108 percent of average. Reservoir storage at the end of March was 122 percent of average[Read More…]
