New snowpack numbers show Colorado is in need of more snowstorms
Our weekly statewide snowpack numbers are out and they don't look good for southwestern areas of Colorado. Of the eight main river basins across Colorado, seven of them are below normal with the only one close to normal being the South Platte River basin. That's fed by snowpack in the Northern Front Range mountains.
The Upper Colorado, North Platte, Yampa and White basins are close to 90 % of the median. While this is pretty good for this time of year, the numbers are still lagging behind. The Gunnison and Arkansas basin come in next with percentages in the mid 80s. That is not alarming but, these areas do need moisture as we move further into February.
The area that is concerning is the river basins of the Upper Rio Grande, San Miguel and San Juan basins. The snowpack percentages are currently in the upper 60s to near 70%. That includes a big chunk of the San Juan mountains and part of the Sangre De Cristo mountains.
When you add all the numbers up, the statewide average overall is 85%. So really, most of the state needs to see the next few months come through with some major snowstorms.
In the short term, the northern mountains may pick up a few inches this weekend which is great but, we need much more.
