Drier Forecast for Snowmelt

The National Weather Service in Riverton has released their report of the total precipitation for December, and it’s significantly less than in recent years.

December 2018 precipitation totals across Wyoming were 85 to 90 percent of average. Precipitation numbers varied between 210 percent of normal over the Belle Fourche River Drainage in northeast Wyoming, to less than 60 percent of average in the central part of the state.

Above average snowmelt streamflow volumes are expected across isolated portions of the Tongue, Powder, and Shoshone Watersheds, while the Wind, Big Horn, and Upper North Platte Basins are forecasted to have below normal streamflow volumes during the upcoming snowmelt season.

Mountain snowpack across Wyoming was 85 to 95 percent of median as of this week, and below normal snowmelt streamflow volumes are expected in several major basins across Wyoming. Wyoming reservoirs are averaging 70 to 75 percent of capacity in early January.