Castle Peak SNOTEL

11,510 ftPitkin County, ColoradoNRCS site 1326Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE0.7″no median
Depth1″+1″ 48 h
Temp26°23°–36° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.7″ now010.7″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now30°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.7″ now010.7″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now30°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.7″ now010.7″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now20°40°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.7″ now010.7″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now20°40°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″0.5″1″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul0.7″ today
0″0.5″1″ONDJFMAMJJ0.7″ today
<50%50–6970–8990–109110–129130–149150%+
0″2″8″16″32″+
0″6″24″48″100″+
Map
Open in the Vertex map

Next 3 days

The forecast for this station is on its way.

16-day outlook, three models

Snowpack vs. median

—%of the 1991–2020 median for today

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Colorado
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Upper TaylorCO · 5 mi10,710 ft0.0″—0″0″
ButteCO · 10 mi10,190 ft0.0″—0″0″
Schofield PassCO · 11 mi10,640 ft0.3″—1″0″
Independence PassCO · 13 mi10,570 ft0.0″0%——
BrumleyCO · 17 mi10,570 ft0.0″—0″0″
North Lost TrailCO · 17 mi9,190 ft0.2″—0″0″
Park ConeCO · 18 mi9,600 ft0.0″—0″0″
Chapman TunnelCO · 21 mi10,090 ft0.0″—1″+1″

Station details

Elevation
11,510 ft
Location
39.0007°N, 106.8391°W
County
Pitkin County, Colorado
Basin
Roaring Fork · HUC 14010004
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 1326
Station ID
1326:CO:SNTL · SHEF CAPC2
Reporting since
September 2024
NWS forecast office
Grand Junction (GJT) discussion

Questions

What is snow water equivalent (SWE)?

SWE is the depth of water you would get by melting the whole snowpack. Castle Peak's 1″ of snow holds 0.7″ of water, so the pack is about 70% water. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10%; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Castle Peak SNOTEL update?

The station reports every hour by radio telemetry to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. This page refreshes each hour. Readings are provisional until NRCS quality control.

What does “% of median” mean?

It compares today’s SWE with the 1991–2020 median for the same calendar day at this station. Above 100% means more water in the snowpack than on a typical year’s same date.

Where is Castle Peak SNOTEL?

At 11,510 ft in Pitkin County, Colorado (39.0007°N, 106.8391°W), in the Roaring Fork basin.

How is the snow forecast made?

Vertex runs the HRRR, RRFS and GFS weather models at the station’s own elevation and carries the measured snowpack forward hour by hour. Treat it as guidance, and check your avalanche center’s forecast before heading out.