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

Early Season Snowfall Boosts Snowpack Across The Rockies

Stephanie Daniel
/
KUNC
Snow falls in Denver on Oct. 29, 2019.

The early season snowstorms that hit the Rocky Mountain region this fall have boosted snowpack levels between two and three times the average.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report shows snow water equivalent above 150% and 200% of average throughout Idaho, northern Colorado and western Montana. Those levels are also scattered across Wyoming and parts of northern Utah.

The highest snowpack levels are in northern Colorado, with some areas reporting three times the normal snowpack for early November and ski resorts opening earlier than usual.

The Denver Post reports that the snowpack statewide is 212% of average, though parts of southwestern Colorado are below average.

Even with the snow, most of Colorado and Utah and part of Wyoming is experiencing dry or drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

___

Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Related Content