Snowpack not looking very good :(

Joined
Apr 22, 2012
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Chugiak, Alaska
Over 11' for Anchorage this year and we're only 2" away from breaking the all time record, so I'm kind of over it. That said, I would like to see the record broke though. :) Our ski resort down in Girdwood has received over 61' so far this season, and although it's not even close to their record, it's still a hell of a lot of snow. I still have over 2' in the yard right now, and we haven't seen our grass since last Sept/Oct., but the good news is, I probably won't have to mow this year until late June or early July.:ROFLMAO:
93f54f53833b588947d90d09ca922e5a.jpg
 

alecvg

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 3, 2012
Messages
268
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MT
We still have maybe 18" of patchy snow on top the divide here west of Helena. I talked to someone from the FS at a meeting last night, he said one of the snowtel sites south of Helena is tied for the lowest recorded year in history. Will be interesting to see how much rain we end up getting.
 

AKDoc

WKR
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May 16, 2015
Messages
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Alaska
Over 11' for Anchorage this year and we're only 2" away from breaking the all time record, so I'm kind of over it. That said, I would like to see the record broke though. :) Our ski resort down in Girdwood has received over 61' so far this season, and although it's not even close to their record, it's still a hell of a lot of snow. I still have over 2' in the yard right now, and we haven't seen our grass since last Sept/Oct., but the good news is, I probably won't have to mow this year until late June or early July.:ROFLMAO:
93f54f53833b588947d90d09ca922e5a.jpg

TB is right on...we're not sure yet if this year will be a bronze, silver or gold medal year for snow fall...but it has been significant for sure! I also have at least a couple feet of snow on the ground here on the hillside right now, and I also agree...I'm done with it for now, too! :ROFLMAO:

Some photos from mid winter:
IMG_9090.jpegIMG_9190.jpegIMG_9156.jpeg

Truly sorry to hear of other locations that are at record lows this year :(...I wish the best for you guys, sincerely!
 

mt100gr.

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Jan 29, 2014
Messages
3,000
Location
NW MT
Over 11' for Anchorage this year and we're only 2" away from breaking the all time record, so I'm kind of over it. That said, I would like to see the record broke though. :) Our ski resort down in Girdwood has received over 61' so far this season, and although it's not even close to their record, it's still a hell of a lot of snow. I still have over 2' in the yard right now, and we haven't seen our grass since last Sept/Oct., but the good news is, I probably won't have to mow this year until late June or early July.:ROFLMAO:
93f54f53833b588947d90d09ca922e5a.jpg
A little cool weather lately has slowed it down, but we're pushing green grass way early this year. Mowed a couple places today. It could be a really long mowing season in western MT or we could be working on irrigation before the 4th of July....roads here are already dusty. And we had an inch of wet snow on the ground a few days ago.
 

JBahr

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 29, 2016
Messages
281
6” in Wheat Ridge, CO this morning. This latest storm looks to have put the majority of the state above the 30 year average. We will likely have at least one more significant snowfall in the mountains next week.
 

mt terry d

WKR
Shoot2HuntU
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Jul 18, 2023
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737
Just pointing out a 30 year average is a very short time period
when looking at weather patterns.

We're getting some moisture over by Big Timber now.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2021
Messages
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Montana
We have a 3 ft drift on the front porch this morning I don't mind the snow as much as the wind. I will have to armor up to shovel my way to the barn this morning and get wood off the porch. Life can be a challenge at times.
 

bradmacmt

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Joined
Nov 14, 2014
Messages
268
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Mont.
Yes, I've been following your snow no's, this is a help for sure. Bear in mind, what I posted above was through midnight yesterday. It snowed here in the Gallatin all night, and is still coming down now. I'm just south of the University, and we have 7"+ on the ground, and it's going to continue all day, and into tomorrow!

We were down to 39% just the other day, good to see a bump! Had a couple of inches in town this morning, rain now but pretty sure it’s snow at ~ 5000+ :)
 

mt terry d

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Shoot2HuntU
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Jul 18, 2023
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Indeed it is, but it's all we have since the various weather stations scattered in the mountains weren't operating in 200 AD... :D
That doesn't stop them from telling us "it's a 500 year flood!"

But they do have records that go much further back than just 30 years,

We got at least 8" of heavy wet snow above 5000' today that, I'd bet, contains
more moisture than 2 or 3 feet of powder.
 

Josh Boyd

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
644
Location
Montana
That doesn't stop them from telling us "it's a 500 year flood!"

But they do have records that go much further back than just 30 years,

We got at least 8" of heavy wet snow above 5000' today that, I'd bet, contains
more moisture than 2 or 3 feet of powder.
I regard to the records from the Snow Survey Program...

"The Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting (SSWSF) normals are site-specific measures of central tendency (either the median or average) for a data type, such as snow water equivalent (SWE). The statistics are calculated over a 30-year period and updated each decade, in agreement with World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards. This 30-year reference period was chosen to characterize the current hydroclimatology at each station. The most recent medians and averages have been updated to include data for the water years 1991-2020. The National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) also provides medians and averages for the 1981-2010 and 1971-2000 reference periods for stations with sufficient data."

The link below will give you more info than you'd probably want to know.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/data-and-reports/climatic-and-hydrologic-normals#modal-22614
 

bradmacmt

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 14, 2014
Messages
268
Location
Mont.
Well, this storm really made incredible improvements - Bridger Bowl got something like 22" out of the storm. Here in the valley, while it's hard to calculate because of how wet the snow was, we got something around 9"+ at our house.

Screenshot 2024-05-09 at 06-31-03 NWCC iMap.png
 
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