Snowpack looking solid after recent snows

Mountain snowpack totals are far above where they were a year ago at this time and on par with a normal year, according to the weekly snow report posted Tuesday by the Natural Resources and Conservation Service.

The Big Horn Basin stood at exactly 100% of median for snow water equivalent on Feb. 18, 2025. On the same day last year, it was 85% of median, and the year before that, 102% of median.

Data collected from NRCS SnoTel sites showed the Greybull subbasin at 107% of median with a snow water equivalent of 5.5 inches; the Shoshone subbasin at 125% with a SWE of 6.0 inches; the Upper Bighorn subbasin at 87% of median with a SWE of 3.4 inches; the Nowood subbasin at 92% of median with a SWE of 5.8 inches and Big Horn Lake at 105% of median with a SWE of 12 inches.

“The Big Horn Basin as a whole is at about 62% of its median peak snowfall for the year (currently at 7.31 inches of snow water equivalent), and the median peak is 11.74 inches,” said Tony Bergantino, director of the Wyoming State Climate Office - Water Resources Data System. “The date of median peak snow water equivalent is about the 24th of April, so we have a ways to go.”

Statewide SNOTELS were reading 103% of median, with a basin high of 114% (Upper Green) and a basin low of 48% (South Platte), according to the same report.

Of local interest, the Wind River Basin was 109% of median, the Shoshone was 99% of median and the Tongue was 98% of median.