© 2024
NPR for Northern Colorado
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Snowpack Levels Low; Drought Conditions Persist

National Resources Conservation Service / USDA Colorado SNOTEL Snowpack Update Map

While this weekend’s snowfall provided some moisture for Colorado, it didn't boost the state’s overall snowpack level by much. As of March 1, snowpack was just at 73 percent of average.

Mage Hultstrand, with the Colorado Snow Survey, says this weekend’s storm increased the snowpack level. As of March 11, the level is now 78 percent of average.

“You know we’re pretty far from normal conditions so to really make a difference we would need that kind of snowfall consistently for all of March,” said Hultstrand.

Peak snowfall is typically measured in early April. To reach normal conditions by then, Hultstrand says Colorado would need to get nearly double the amount of snowfall that would typically be considered normal for the month of March.

Reservoir storage across Colorado remains at just 71 percent of average as of March 1.

My journalism career started in college when I worked as a reporter and Weekend Edition host for WEKU-FM, an NPR member station in Richmond, KY. I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.A. in broadcast journalism.
Related Content