Grayback SNOTEL

11,620 ftRio Grande County, ColoradoNRCS site 1058Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE0.2″no median
Depth1″+1″ 48 h
Temp26°20°–36° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.2″ now010.2″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now20°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.2″ now010.2″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now20°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.2″ now010.2″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now25°50°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.2″ now010.2″Snow depth1″ now02.51″Air temperature26°F now25°50°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″0.5″1″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul0.2″ today
0″0.5″1″ONDJFMAMJJ0.2″ 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
Lily PondCO · 6 mi11,070 ft0.0″—0″—
Elwood PassCO · 7 mi11,680 ft1.5″—4″+2″
Wolf Creek SummitCO · 15 mi10,930 ft1.1″550%2″+2″
Upper San JuanCO · 16 mi10,140 ft0.1″—0″—
Middle CreekCO · 29 mi11,260 ft2.1″—4″+1″
Cumbres TrestleCO · 32 mi10,030 ft0.3″—0″0″
Moon PassCO · 34 mi11,110 ft0.1″—0″−1″
ChamitaNM · 36 mi8,360 ft——0″0″

Station details

Elevation
11,620 ft
Location
37.4705°N, 106.5379°W
County
Rio Grande County, Colorado
Basin
Alamosa-Trinchera · HUC 13010002
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 1058
Station ID
1058:CO:SNTL · SHEF GYBC2
Reporting since
September 2004
NWS forecast office
Pueblo (PUB) discussion

Questions

What is snow water equivalent (SWE)?

SWE is the depth of water you would get by melting the whole snowpack. Grayback's 1″ of snow holds 0.2″ of water, so the pack is about 20% water. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10%; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Grayback 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 Grayback SNOTEL?

At 11,620 ft in Rio Grande County, Colorado (37.4705°N, 106.5379°W), in the Alamosa-Trinchera 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.