Luckily, with so much to see and do, colorado is very easy to navigate. United states natural resources water and climate center department of conservation portland, oregon agriculture service s n o w p r e c i p i t a t i o n u p d a t e based on mountain data. Nasa measures dust on snow to help manage colorado river. Excellent colorado river snowpack jfleck at inkstain. Snotel river basin snow water content tabular report basin snow water content map numeric basin precipitation map basin precipitation map numeric. Snowpack is great, but it needs to melt at a normal rate. Rocky mountain snowpack physical and chemical data for. If we experience prolonged warm temps that water will come down earlier than needed ag users need that water to melt and hit the streams in midlate april and flow out of the state. Snotel snowpack maps wyoming nrcs snotel sites idaho nrcs snotel sites utah nrcs snotel sites montana nrcs snotel sites. Select options from dropdown menus or click watershed on map to view the line graph of the current water year. The nsa are based on modeled snow pack characteristics that are updated each day using all operationally available ground, airborne, and satellite observations of snow water equivalent, snow depth, and snow cover.
Colorado river snowpack faring better than sierras, but not. Colorado snotel snow water equivalent swe update map with site data. Here is the snotel report for various monitoring stations around the state. Colorado snotel snowpack update map with site data current as of jul 20, 2015 provisional data subject to revision percent of median missing or invalid data 150 149 110 129 90 109 70 89 50 69 usbr. Middle colorado river snowpack, streamflow and climate update. Can the low snowpack in southwest colorado rebound. Recent big snows mean some recovery by brendan heberton on 04 march 2015 in colorado weather, colorado snowpack, snowpack. The purpose is to have the ability to present this information to its board of directors, constituents, and partners in a graphical format that illustrates both of the basins and the areas specific to the fryingpanarkansas project project and the areas of. News record heat wave brings lightning, brush fires and intense rain to southern california california map laminated w x h. Why the colorado river basin snowpack is important.
Snow pack conditions map upper colorado region data current as of wednesday apr222020 data provided by the natural resource conservation service note data is received at approximately the midnight hour of the previous day. With all the unseasonably warm weather of late here in colorado, people might be interested in how the snowpack is doing around the state. Jan 20, 2018 southwest colorados snowpack this winter is on track to be one of the lowest in recent history, but if past years are an indication, there is time. An accompanying elevation map also shows that almost all of. California map explore map of california, the most prosperous as well as most populous state in the us. Physiographically sensitive mapping of climatological temperature and. Colorado river snowpack faring better than sierras, but not by much. We last updated you on colorados snowpack nearly a month ago on february 12, and the picture we painted was a grim one for much of colorado, especially across southwest portions of the state. National alabama alaska arizona arkansas california colorado connecticut delaware district of columbia florida georgia hawaii idaho illinois indiana iowa kansas kentucky louisiana maine maryland massachusetts michigan minnesota mississippi missouri montana nebraska nevada new hampshire. Co snowpack levels a dramatic turnaround from 2018 krcc.
The statewide snowpack sat at about 95 percent of last years level as of june 1, the agency reported. Large boxes indicate stations that had reported during the month when these maps were last generated. This map shows trends in april snowpack in the western united states, measured in terms of snow water equivalent. The southeastern colorado water conservancy district district monitors the snowpack of the arkansas and upper colorado river basins.
Southwest colorados snowpack this winter is on track to be one of the lowest in recent history, but if past years are an indication, there is time. Jan 24, 2017 nasa measures dust on snow to help manage colorado river basin water supplies by nasa the snowcapped mountains of colorado and utah contain trillions of gallons of water stored in the form of snow. Middle colorado river snowpack, streamflow and climate update wendy ryan senior project manager. Colorado snotel watershed time series snowpack graphs snotel basin time series snowpack summary graphs. Map n3 ne city alamosa location region akron colorado is the eighthlargest state in the u. Provisional data, subject to revision data based on the first reading of the day typically 00. Snotel current snow water equivalent swe nrcs national. Colorado snotel statewide snowpack map colorado snowpack update all state river basins snowatch system northern waters snowatch system displays snow accumulation snowpack data from remote snowpack telemetry snotel platforms in eight watersheds, covering an area from west of loveland, co to east of kremmling, co. Ca is the most extensive state by area and is located on the western coast of the united states. Apr 02, 2015 colorado river snowpack faring better than sierras, but not by much.
Natural resources conservation service snow surveyors. Snowpack measurements are taken by special weather stations called snotels or snow telemetry sites. Modify these basic loads for wind, shape of roof, drifting, ice loads, etc. The rocky mountain snowpack program established a network of snowpacksampling sites in the rocky mountain region, from new mexico to montana, to monitor the chemical content of snow and to understand the effects of regional atmospheric deposition on freshwater systems. Nws denverboulder spotter and cooperative observer snowfall maps. Colorado mountain snowpack still lags, at 72 percent of the norm, and federal forecasters project drought will persist across much of the southwestern united states, threatening agricultural. Pdf snowpack variability and trends at longterm stations in.
Nws denverboulder spotter and cooperative observer snowfall. The snow water equivalent percent of normal represents the current snow water equivalent found at selected snotel sites in or near the basin compared to the. We live in the desert, but we keep an eye on the snow in the rocky mountains. At this critical time of year for colorado river snowpack, things are looking very. Colorado snowpack from snotel colorado forum tripadvisor. The latest data show two river basins in the southwest corner of the state the upper rio grande and the san miguel, dolores, animas and san juan at 34 and 36 percent of average snowpack, respectively. United states natural resources water and climate center department of conservation portland, oregon agriculture service s n o w p r e c i p i t a t i o n u p d a t e based on mountain data from nrcs snotel sites as of wednesday. The map above shows the snowpack levels for the regions of the rocky mountains that feed the colorado river as of april. Apr, 2011 the rocky mountain snowpack program established a network of snowpack sampling sites in the rocky mountain region, from new mexico to montana, to monitor the chemical content of snow and to understand the effects of regional atmospheric deposition on freshwater systems. Colorado snotel watershed time series snowpack graphs.
Snowpack observed snow water equivalent swe conditions as of midapril are generally near to slightly above normal median across the upper colorado river basin and great basin. The map above shows the snowpack levels for the regions of the rocky mountains that feed the. Western united states alaska colorado, rio grande and arkansas river basins pacific northwest great basin and california missouri river basin. Across the colorado river basin, of which the vail valley is a part, snowpack was 31 percent higher than the 30year average. Snotel snowpack telemetry snowpack report western united states. Colorado watershed snowpack maps colorado basin snowpack maps. As dismal scenes from crested butte and telluride can attest, the southern mountains are faring the worst. And sean and cory glackin at alpine quest sports are loving life right now.
Locations of the snotel stations n55 in colorado used in this study. Colorado snowpack is historically low, but summit county is. Westwide snotel current snow water equivalent swe % of normal 0 75 150 300 miles data unavailable at time of posting or measurement is not representative at this time of year the snow water equivalent percent of normal represents the current snow water equivalent found at selected snotel sites in or near the basin. Based on mountain data from nrcs snotel sites provisional data, subject to revision data based on the first reading of the day typically 00. Max snowpack numbers and dates come from nrcs data for previous year colors legend.
Westwide snotel current snow water equivalent swe % of. Because each of our colorado digital maps is available in the adobe illustrator or editable pdf format, both of which use a vector based approach to displaying images, you can easily zoom into any portion of our maps without any degradation in the quality of the text, lines and symbols of the map regardless of the magnification factor. Red, less than 50% of average orange, between 50% and 80% of average green, between 80% and 120% of average blue, between 120% and 150% of average purple, greater than 150% of average. Colorado mountain snowpack still lags, at 72 percent of the. Use only within immediate vicinity of given town, particularly if ground elevation changes noticeably.
The latest data show two river basins in the southwest corner of the state the upper rio grande and the san miguel, dolores, animas and san juan at. Current and historic snowpack data, reports, maps, and graphs. Colorado snotel watershed time series snowpack graphs nrcs. May 05, 2017 final 2017 snowpack survey nearly double the average water content posted by.
Trends in april snowpack in the western united states, 19552016. Colorado snotel snowpack update map with site data current as of jul 20, 2015 provisional data subject to revision percent of median missing or invalid data colorado snowpack worst in more than 30 years in some areas leaving water suppliers on high alert halfway through the snow season, utilities are trying to preserve as much water in storage just in. The nrcs snow survey program provides mountain snowpack data and streamflow forecasts. Middle colorado river snowpack, streamflow and climate. By deana ikeya and chuck cullom, cap colorado river programs. Pdf the individual measurements from snowcourse stations were digitized for six stations across. State of colorado recommended basic snow design loads snow loads by city 1. Snotel snowpack telemetry snowpack report western united. If a location has multiple stations or more than one platform in the near vicinity, overlapping boxes may create difficulty when selecting from the map. Summary of a snow depth and b swe trends for the six stations over the entire period of record.
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