Snowpack
Snow season overUpper Colorado River Basin snowpack
Basin snow water equivalent vs the 1991-2020 median, 137 SNOTEL stations
Data through Oct 28, 2026 · source last checked Oct 30, 2026 · page revised Oct 29, 2026
Cite
- This snow year
- 1991-2020 median
About this data
- Source
- USDA NRCS SNOTEL (Air-Water Database)
- Series
- Snow water equivalent (WTEQ), basin-index percent of the 1991-2020 median
- Geography
- Upper Colorado River Basin
- Unit
- in
- Calculation
- Daily reading, aggregated across reporting SNOTEL stations
- Last observation
- Jun 11, 2026
- Update frequency
- Daily in season (Oct-Jun); melts out by mid-summer
Snow year complete. Upper Colorado River Basin's snowpack peaked at 0.4 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 25, 2026, 94% of the normal peak. The 2028 snow year begins October 1.
Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack peaked at 0.4 in on Oct 25, 94% of the normal 0.5 in peak. Water-year precipitation totaled 4.4 in, 210% of the 1991-2020 median. Current snowpack on Oct 28 stands at 0.38 in, below the median 0.46 in for this date.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| This season's peak (SWE) | 0.4 in on Oct 25, 2026 |
| Normal peak (1991-2020 median) | 0.5 in |
| Peak vs normal peak | 94% |
| Percent of median at last snow reading | 0% (Jun 11, 2026) |
| Water-year precipitation to date | 4.4 in (210% of median) |
Previous weeks
An earlier week
Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack peaked at 0.4 in around Oct 25, 108% of the normal peak. Water-year precipitation to date stands at 4.4 in, 222% of the median.
An earlier week
The Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack peaked at 0.4 in of snow water equivalent on Oct 25, 116% of the normal peak. Water-year precipitation to date totaled 4.4 in, 230% of median.
Week of Oct 25, 2026
Upper Colorado Basin snowpack peaked at 0.4 in of snow water equivalent around Oct 25, 124% of the normal peak. Water-year precipitation stands at 4.3 in, 235% of the 1991-2020 median. The snow year is complete.
An earlier week
Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack peaked at 0.4 in of snow water equivalent on Oct 24, 2026, running 139% of the 1991-2020 median peak. Water-year precipitation to date totals 4.3 in, 239% of the median.
About Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack
Snow water equivalent (SWE) is the depth of water held in the snowpack, and it is the single number that best predicts the coming spring and summer runoff. Depth alone can mislead: a deep, dry snowpack can hold less water than a shallow, dense one.
The Waterline reads Upper Colorado River Basin's snowpack from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service SNOTEL network using the standard basin-index method. It sums the current water content across the 137 SNOTEL stations inside the Upper Colorado River Basin (hydrologic units 14), divides by the sum of those same stations' 1991-2020 medians for the date, and reports the ratio as percent of median, so a deep high-elevation site counts for more than a shallow valley one and a station with no long-term normal never distorts the number. The inch figures shown here are the average snow water equivalent across those reporting stations.
Snow builds from about October, normally peaks near April 1, and melts out by early summer. Once the normal snowpack for the date nears zero, percent of median stops being a meaningful number, so this page reports the season's peak instead of a percentage until the snow returns.