Dolores River basin snow water equivalent is the highest of the past 36 years
Storms approach Rico, Colorado from southern California.
U.S. National Weather Service radar
March 20, 2023
.
March 31, 2023 - Dolores River Basin snow water equivalent surpassed all recorded readings since 1987
.
National Water and Climate Center
National Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
.
Dolores River Basin
SNOTEL network
stations
.
Scotch Creek station south of Rico snow depth reaches 72 inches
.
National Water and Climate Center
National Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
.
SW Colorado river basins lead Colorado snowpack
.
March 21, 2023 - The San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan River basins had the greatest snow water equivalent in Colorado, at 167 percent of normal.
.
Snow water equivalent is a measure of the liquid water contained in snowpack. It is more useful than snow depth for estimating the volume of meltwater flow. This is because 3 feet of fresh, dry, fluffy snow may represent only 4-5 inches of SWE, but 3 feet of compacted, wet, spring snow may contain 12 inches or more of SWE. Using SWE helps scientists measure snowpack in a standardized way. Units are inches (in).
United States Geological Survey (USGS)
