Wyoming Water Supply Outlook--April 7, 2017

Areas of Critical Fire Weather and Heavy Snow Friday

Gusty winds and low relative humidity will bring critical fire weather to parts of southern New England and Hawaii Friday where Red Flag Warnings have been issued. Several feet of snow may accumulate over the Cascades from late Friday night into Monday evening as a storm system move through the Pacific Northwest. Read More >

HIGHLIGHTS

…Wyoming March 2017 precipitation was 135 to 145 percent of average...

...Current water year precipitation continues to average 135 to 145 percent of normal across Wyoming…

…Mountain snowpack across Wyoming is 110 to 120 percent of median...

…Above to much above normal snowmelt streamflow volumes are still expected across most major basins in Wyoming…

…Wyoming reservoir storages are 125 to 135 percent of average for April…

SYNOPSIS

March precipitation totals across Wyoming were 135 to 145 percent of average. Precipitation numbers varied between near 255 percent of normal over the Wind River Drainage (central Wyoming) to near 65 percent of normal over the Little Snake River Basin (south central Wyoming). Current water year (October 2016 – March 2017) precipitation across Wyoming continues to be 135 to 145 percent of average.

Mountain snowpack across Wyoming was 110 to 120 percent of median by early April. Snowpack "water" numbers and/or SWEs were the highest across basins in central Wyoming (Wind, Upper Green, and Sweetwater)—varying between 165 to near 200 percent of median. SWEs across basins in eastern-southeastern Wyoming were 85 to near 100 percent of median.

Above to much above normal (160 to near 170 percent) snowmelt streamflow volumes continue to be expected across almost all major basins across Wyoming. Well above average snowmelt streamflow volumes are still expected across the Snake, Wind, Sweetwater, Shoshone, and Upper Green Watersheds. The Little Snake, Upper North Platte, and Tongue Drainages are forecasted to have slightly below to slight above normal streamflow volumes during the upcoming snowmelt season.

Reservoirs storages across Wyoming remained above average at 125 to 135 percent for April.

The latest Wyoming water supply outlook graphic: