Vallecito SNOTEL

10,740 ftLa Plata County, ColoradoNRCS site 843Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

Last peak8.0″SWE · Feb 20
Depth0″snow-free since Apr 18
Temp35°24°–41° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hAir temperature35°F now30°40°32°35°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hAir temperature35°F now30°40°32°35°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysAir temperature35°F now40°32°35°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysAir temperature35°F now40°32°35°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″5″10″15″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
0″10″ONDJFMAMJJ
<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

Last season

8.0″peak snow water equivalent

Last season peaked at 8.0″ of water, 54% of the median peak.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Colorado

Station details

Elevation
10,740 ft
Location
37.4852°N, 107.5075°W
County
La Plata County, Colorado
Basin
Upper San Juan · HUC 14080101
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 843
Station ID
843:CO:SNTL · SHEF VALC2
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. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10% water; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Vallecito 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 Vallecito SNOTEL?

At 10,740 ft in La Plata County, Colorado (37.4852°N, 107.5075°W), in the Upper San Juan 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.