March 22, 2013

Current Snowpack

The pattern seen in February with the region's snowpacks has continued since March 1, with storm tracks favoring Colorado and eastern Wyoming, where snowpacks have seen slight to moderate gains with respect to average conditions. Conversely, snowpacks in many Utah basins and in western Wyoming have slipped back. As a result, the Current Basin Snowpack map from NRCS shows nearly all basins across the region having 70–90% of average snowpack for March 22. Northwestern and north-central Wyoming have the highest basin snowpack levels, though still below average. The basinwide snowpack for the Upper Colorado River above Lake Powell as of March 22 is at 80% of average, up slightly from 78% of average on March 1. Last year at this time, the Upper Colorado River basinwide snowpack was almost identical to this year, at 81% of average. However, in 2012 the snowpack had reached a very early peak around March 20, while there is still the opportunity for further accumulation this year.

Seasonal Climate and Drought Forecasts

The latest monthly and seasonal Climate Outlooks released on March 21 by NOAA CPC continue to show a tilt towards drier-than-average conditions for late spring and early summer for western Colorado and all of Utah; this dry tilt is stronger than in the previous outlooks. The CPC Climate Outlooks continue to show enhanced odds for above-normal temperatures for the upcoming seasons, consistent with the long-term trend towards warmer conditions. The latest CPC Seasonal Drought Outlook released March 21 projects that over most of our region drought conditions will persist, but some improvement is expected in eastern Wyoming and northeastern Colorado over the next three months.

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