Molas Lake SNOTEL

10,610 ftSan Juan County, ColoradoNRCS site 632Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE1.0″no median
Depth4″+3″ 48 h
Temp19°19°–48° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent1.0″ now011.0″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature19°F now20°40°32°19°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent1.0″ now011.0″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature19°F now20°40°32°19°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent1.0″ now011.0″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature19°F now25°50°32°19°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent1.0″ now011.0″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature19°F now25°50°32°19°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″10″20″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 22″ · Apr 111.0″ today
0″10″20″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 22″ · Apr 111.0″ 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
Spud MountainCO · 6 mi10,660 ft1.2″—5″+4″
Mineral CreekCO · 7 mi10,030 ft0.6″—2″+1″
Cascade #2CO · 9 mi8,990 ft0.1″—2″+2″
Red Mountain PassCO · 10 mi11,060 ft1.8″—9″+7″
BeartownCO · 10 mi11,580 ft3.4″—10″+4″
IdaradoCO · 13 mi9,780 ft0.5″—1″+1″
Alta LakesCO · 13 mi11,290 ft1.7″—9″+7″
Lizard Head PassCO · 13 mi10,190 ft0.3″—2″+2″

Station details

Elevation
10,610 ft
Location
37.7493°N, 107.6893°W
County
San Juan County, Colorado
Basin
Animas · HUC 14080104
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 632
Station ID
632:CO:SNTL · SHEF MLSC2
Reporting since
October 1985
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. Molas Lake's 4″ of snow holds 1.0″ of water, so the pack is about 25% water. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10%; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Molas Lake 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 Molas Lake SNOTEL?

At 10,610 ft in San Juan County, Colorado (37.7493°N, 107.6893°W), in the Animas 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.