With the latest storm dropping between 4″ and 10″ of snow across mainly the central and northern mountains, Colorado’s statewide snow water equivalent snowpack has increased above historical lows for the first time since January 13, 2026, a string of 45 days. The SNOTEL data set is made up of a group of automated stations that begin in the late 70s and expanded through the 1980s. There are manual observations that go back longer than that, but at are only sparsely populate across Colorado. Just keep in mind that the data being displayed only goes back about 45 years or so. That said, it is still very useful for perspective.
The northern river basins continue to lead the way, while the southern basins trial behind, although they have shown the greatest improvement over the last several weeks, particularly in the southwestern part of the state.
This shot sent in by Zach Mason looking northward toward the upper Arkansas River Valley gives a very clear picture of what the 49% snowpack of the Arkansas River Basin. Zach took this picture while flying over the San Luis Valley. The Sangre de Cristo Range, Wet Mountains, and Pikes Peak could really use some snow.
