North Rapid Creek SNOTEL

6,150 ftLawrence County, South DakotaNRCS site 920Updated Fri Oct 16, 4:00 AM MDT

SWE0.1″no median
Depth0″0″ 48 h
Temp23°23°–47° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature23°F now20°40°32°23°FNow · Fri 4 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature23°F now20°40°32°23°FNow · Fri 4 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature23°F now50°32°23°FNow · Fri 4 AM
SatSunMonTueWedThuPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature23°F now50°32°23°FNow · Fri 4 AM
0″2″4″6″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 7.4″ · Apr 20.1″ today
0″2.5″5″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 7.4″ · Apr 20.1″ 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 South Dakota
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Blind ParkSD · 12 mi6,900 ft0.0″—0″0″
Cole CanyonWY · 36 mi5,930 ft0.0″—1″0″
Hanson SawmillWY · 158 mi8,360 ft0.0″—0″0″
Soldier ParkWY · 160 mi8,680 ft0.0″—0″−1″
Laprele CreekWY · 161 mi8,370 ft0.4″—0″0″
Windy PeakWY · 161 mi7,890 ft0.0″—0″0″
Reno HillWY · 162 mi8,410 ft1.0″200%2″+2″
Cloud Peak ReservoirWY · 162 mi9,830 ft0.0″0%0″0″

Station details

Elevation
6,150 ft
Location
44.2062°N, 103.7876°W
County
Lawrence County, South Dakota
Basin
Rapid · HUC 10120110
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 920
Station ID
920:SD:SNTL · SHEF NRPS2
Reporting since
August 1996
NWS forecast office
Rapid City (UNR) 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 North Rapid 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 North Rapid Creek SNOTEL?

At 6,150 ft in Lawrence County, South Dakota (44.2062°N, 103.7876°W), in the Rapid 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.