Basin Creek SNOTEL

7,120 ftSilver Bow County, MontanaNRCS site 315Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE0.9″300% of median
Depth6″−1″ 48 h
Temp28°20°–43° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.9″ now0.511.50.9″Snow depth6″ now66″Air temperature28°F now20°40°32°28°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.9″ now0.511.50.9″Snow depth6″ now66″Air temperature28°F now20°40°32°28°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.9″ now010.9″Snow depth6″ now0106″Air temperature28°F now50°32°28°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.9″ now010.9″Snow depth6″ now0106″Air temperature28°F now50°32°28°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″5″10″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 10″ · Apr 270.9″ today · 300% of median
0″5″10″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 10″ · Apr 270.9″ today · 300% 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

300%of the 1991–2020 median for today

0.9″ of water today against a median of 0.3″, 200% above median. The median peak is 10.0″ around April 27.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Montana
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Albro LakeMT · 30 mi8,500 ft1.1″92%5″−2″
Mule CreekMT · 34 mi8,300 ft0.8″200%3″−1″
Lower TwinMT · 35 mi7,920 ft1.0″167%4″−1″
Barker LakesMT · 36 mi8,250 ft0.6″86%5″−1″
Calvert CreekMT · 39 mi6,410 ft0.1″—0″−2″
Rocker PeakMT · 41 mi7,960 ft1.1″183%5″−1″
Peterson MeadowsMT · 44 mi7,190 ft0.7″350%1″−1″
Warm SpringsMT · 45 mi7,840 ft0.3″38%3″−1″

Station details

Elevation
7,120 ft
Location
45.7974°N, 112.5205°W
County
Silver Bow County, Montana
Basin
Upper Clark Fork · HUC 17010201
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 315
Station ID
315:MT:SNTL · SHEF BSCM8
Reporting since
October 1976
NWS forecast office
Missoula (MSO) discussion

Questions

What is snow water equivalent (SWE)?

SWE is the depth of water you would get by melting the whole snowpack. Basin Creek's 6″ of snow holds 0.9″ 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 Basin Creek 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 Basin Creek SNOTEL?

At 7,120 ft in Silver Bow County, Montana (45.7974°N, 112.5205°W), in the Upper Clark Fork 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.