Snow levels down over last two years

Snow levels in the Wind, Big Horn and Shoshone river basins have decreased to the 70% range of median with the Yellowstone Basin reaching at 82% in the most recent snow report issued by the National Resources Conservation Service.

As of January 6, the Shoshone River Basin stood at 73%, Bighorn River Basin 72% and Wind River Basin 76%. One year ago, the Shoshone Basin was 74 percent of median, Bighorn 75%, Wind 78% and Yellowstone 59%.

According to the NRCS, the state’s Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites were reading 92% of median as of January 6 with a high of 109% (Lower Green River) and a low of 20% (South Platte). One year ago, the state was at 65% overall, down from 123% in 2023.

The current report and a map displaying basin SWE percentages of median for the state may be found at: http://www.wrds.uwyo.edu/wrds/nrcs/nrcs.html. The map may differ slightly from the table depending upon how many stations were reporting at the time. 

For information on the use of median vs. average go to http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/normals/median_average.htm.