The Water Information Program

Tracking snow levels is a job for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. In the mid-1930s, the U.S. Congress mandated the service, then the Soil Conservation Service, to measure and track snowpack in the Western United States and Alaska. Until 1980 these measurements were taken manually. Since then the service has installed, maintained and operated the SNOTEL - for SNOwpack TELemetry - network consisting of more than 660 automated snowpack and climate monitors in the Western United States and Alaska. The data collected are used to create snowpack and stream flow maps and forecast water supplies. Until recently, snow course and SNOTEL data had been used to generate statewide snowpack maps on a monthly basis along with statewide streamflow forecast maps. In an e-mail message, Chris Pacheco, assistant snow survey supervisor, stated that starting this month the data will be used to provide maps for major basins in the state: Arkansas, Colorado, Gunnison, San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan, South Platte, Upper Rio Grande, Yampa and White and North Platte. Leon Kot, conservation service district conservationist at the Woodland Park office, said in an e-mail that there are two possibilities when it comes to predicting the weather for the remainder of the snow season. "The El Niño pattern-type climate thus far bringing more cold and snow in parts of the state may be influenced by La Niña, which should moderate the colder and snowier weather we have been experiencing. If La Niña doesn't develop, however, and we continue getting 'dumped on' with our two snowiest months coming up - March and April - then parts of the state are liable to have flooding problems this spring."

To view the full article, visit the Pikes Peak Courier View. For a copy of the original article contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango.