Vail Mountain SNOTEL

10,290 ftEagle County, ColoradoNRCS site 842Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE0.3″150% of median
Depth1″+1″ 48 h
Temp26°26°–40° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.3″ now00.510.3″Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature26°F now30°40°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.3″ now00.510.3″Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature26°F now30°40°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.3″ now00.510.3″Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature26°F now25°50°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.3″ now00.510.3″Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature26°F now25°50°32°26°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″10″20″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 20.8″ · Apr 270.3″ today · 150% of median
0″10″20″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 20.8″ · Apr 270.3″ 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

0.3″ of water today against a median of 0.2″, 50% above median. The median peak is 20.8″ around April 27.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Colorado
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Beaver Creek VillageCO · 7 mi8,530 ft0.0″—2″+1″
Mccoy ParkCO · 9 mi9,500 ft0.0″—1″0″
Summit RanchCO · 14 mi9,350 ft0.2″—0″0″
Copper MountainCO · 14 mi10,500 ft0.0″—0″0″
Elliot RidgeCO · 17 mi10,550 ft0.0″—0″0″
Fremont PassCO · 19 mi11,310 ft0.2″33%0″0″
Middle Fork CampCO · 22 mi8,960 ft0.0″—0″0″
IvanhoeCO · 24 mi10,540 ft0.1″33%0″—

Station details

Elevation
10,290 ft
Location
39.6176°N, 106.3802°W
County
Eagle County, Colorado
Basin
Eagle · HUC 14010003
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 842
Station ID
842:CO:SNTL · SHEF VLMC2
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. Vail Mountain's 1″ of snow holds 0.3″ of water, so the pack is about 30% water. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10%; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Vail Mountain 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 Vail Mountain SNOTEL?

At 10,290 ft in Eagle County, Colorado (39.6176°N, 106.3802°W), in the Eagle 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.