Rio Santa Barbara SNOTEL

10,640 ftTaos County, New MexicoNRCS site 1254Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE0.3″no median
Depth0″0″ 48 h
Temp33°24°–49° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.3″ now-0.500.50.3″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature33°F now40°32°33°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.3″ now-0.500.50.3″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature33°F now40°32°33°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.3″ now-0.500.50.3″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature33°F now40°60°32°33°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.3″ now-0.500.50.3″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature33°F now40°60°32°33°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″0.5″1″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul0.3″ today
0″0.5″1″ONDJFMAMJJ0.3″ 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 New Mexico
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Tres RitosNM · 7 mi8,740 ft0.1″—1″0″
Gallegos PeakNM · 9 mi9,460 ft0.1″—0″0″
Wesner SpringsNM · 21 mi11,110 ft——0″—
Santa FeNM · 23 mi11,480 ft0.1″—0″0″
Elk CabinNM · 27 mi8,220 ft0.0″—0″−1″
PaloNM · 29 mi9,330 ft0.0″—1″0″
Taos PuebloNM · 36 mi10,990 ft0.0″—0″0″
Taos PowderhornNM · 37 mi11,020 ft0.0″—0″0″

Station details

Elevation
10,640 ft
Location
36.0720°N, 105.6295°W
County
Taos County, New Mexico
Basin
Upper Rio Grande · HUC 13020101
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 1254
Station ID
1254:NM:SNTL · SHEF SBAN5
Reporting since
September 2013
NWS forecast office
Albuquerque (ABQ) 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 Rio Santa Barbara 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 Rio Santa Barbara SNOTEL?

At 10,640 ft in Taos County, New Mexico (36.0720°N, 105.6295°W), in the Upper Rio Grande 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.