A dry January whittled away at the ample snowpack that December’s winter storms had banked in Colorado’s high county.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service said today that statewide snowpack was 136 percent of the 30-year average on Jan. 1, but slipped to 117 percent on Feb. 1.
Decreases were recorded across the state.
Southwest Colorado was the driest in January, collecting only about 25 percent of average precipitation for the month. As a result, snowpack in the basins of the San Juan, Animas, Dolores and San Miguel rivers slipped from 144 percent of average to 106 percent.
The Gunnison River basin decreased from 158 percent to 125 percent of average, according to NRCS.
The Colorado River basin remains the most flush at 135 percent. The South Platte River basin is at 120 percent. On the Rio Grande basin is below average at 80 percent.
“Without those big storms back in December, most of the state would be well below average right now,” NRCS state conservationist Allen Green said in a statement. “At this point, they’ve allowed us to endure a dry month, yet maintain good snowpack readings nearly everywhere.”
Snowpack is critical in Colorado, as it provides about 80 percent of the state’s year-round water supply. The April 1 measurement is the critical measurement that helps utilities and other water providers determine watering supplies for spring and summer levels available for lawns, crops and drinking water.
