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Yampa-White-Green snowpack today

Snow water equivalent at the NRCS SNOTEL stations BasinMind follows in the Yampa-White-Green basin (Division 6), against the 1991–2020 median for the date.

Figures as of · Advisory only — confirm water rights with Colorado DWR.

SnowpackOut of season16 of 16 stations report snow water equivalent, with no percent of median to show.NRCS SNOTEL · Oct 3, 2026

Outside the snow season. From July into October Colorado's snowpack has usually melted out: SNOTEL stations read zero or close to it, and the median for the date is too small for a percentage to mean much. That is the season, not a drought signal; snow typically starts to build from late October.

Stations

SNOTEL stationElevation (ft)SWE (in)% of medianReading
Tower10,6100.0—Oct 3, 2026
Ripple Creek10,3400.0—Oct 3, 2026
Never Summer10,3002.2—Oct 3, 2026
Trapper Lake9,7500.0—Oct 3, 2026
Roach9,7100.0—Oct 3, 2026
Rabbit Ears9,3900.0—Oct 3, 2026
Lost Dog9,3500.0—Oct 3, 2026
Zirkel9,3200.1—Oct 3, 2026
Burro Mountain9,2900.0—Oct 3, 2026
Columbine9,1700.4—Oct 3, 2026
Bear River9,1000.1—Oct 3, 2026
Rawah9,1000.0—Oct 3, 2026
Crosho8,9600.0—Oct 3, 2026
Elkhead Divide8,7800.0—Oct 3, 2026
Elk River8,7100.1—Oct 3, 2026
Dry Lake8,2400.0—Oct 3, 2026

What SWE measures

Snow water equivalent (SWE) is the depth of water, in inches, you would have if the snowpack melted in place. At a SNOTEL station a snow pillow weighs the snow above it, and the weight is converted into water. Percent of median compares today's SWE with the station's median for the same date over 1991–2020: 100% is a typical snowpack for the date. More in Snowpack and SWE.

From snow to the Yampa-White-Green basin's rivers

Snow that builds from roughly October through early spring melts from April through June and becomes the spring runoff that fills reservoirs, sets how long rivers stay out of call and determines compact deliveries.

In this basin that runoff reaches reservoirs such as Stagecoach Reservoir, Steamboat Lake, Elkhead Reservoir and Yamcolo Reservoir, and runs past stream gauges such as Yampa River at Steamboat Springs.

The SNOTEL stations BasinMind follows here run from Tower at 10,610 feet down to Dry Lake at 8,240 feet; one station describes one spot on one slope, and the basin figure averages those reporting.

More for this basin

Snowpack in other basins

Sources

  1. NRCS National Water and Climate Center — SNOTEL