Tower SNOTEL

10,610 ftRoutt County, ColoradoNRCS site 825Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE0.6″150% of median
Depth4″+3″ 48 h
Temp22°18°–37° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.6″ now010.6″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature22°F now20°32°22°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.6″ now010.6″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature22°F now20°32°22°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.6″ now010.6″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature22°F now25°50°32°22°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.6″ now010.6″Snow depth4″ now054″Air temperature22°F now25°50°32°22°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″20″40″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 49″ · May 70.6″ today · 150% of median
0″20″40″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 49″ · May 70.6″ today · 150% of median
<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

150%of the 1991–2020 median for today

0.6″ of water today against a median of 0.4″, 50% above median. The median peak is 49.0″ around May 7.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Colorado
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Dry LakeCO · 6 mi8,240 ft0.1″—1″0″
ColumbineCO · 11 mi9,170 ft0.5″—0″0″
Rabbit EarsCO · 12 mi9,390 ft0.4″—1″+1″
ZirkelCO · 18 mi9,320 ft0.2″—0″0″
Lost DogCO · 20 mi9,350 ft0.1″—0″0″
Arapaho RidgeCO · 20 mi10,960 ft0.5″50%3″+3″
Buffalo ParkCO · 22 mi9,240 ft0.4″—0″0″
Elk RiverCO · 26 mi8,710 ft0.2″—0″0″

Station details

Elevation
10,610 ft
Location
40.5374°N, 106.6766°W
County
Routt County, Colorado
Basin
Upper Yampa · HUC 14050001
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 825
Station ID
825:CO:SNTL · SHEF TOWC2
Reporting since
October 1978
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. Tower's 4″ of snow holds 0.6″ of water, so the pack is about 15% water. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10%; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Tower 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 Tower SNOTEL?

At 10,610 ft in Routt County, Colorado (40.5374°N, 106.6766°W), in the Upper Yampa 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.