Cougar Mountain SNOTEL

3,210 ftKing County, WashingtonNRCS site 420Updated Fri Oct 16, 3:00 AM PDT

SWE0.1″no median
Depth0″−1″ 48 h
Temp56°46°–59° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature56°F now40°60°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature56°F now40°60°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now010.1″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature56°F now40°60°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now010.1″Snow depth0″ now00″Air temperature56°F now40°60°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
0″5″10″15″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 17.7″ · Mar 220.1″ today
0″10″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 17.7″ · Mar 220.1″ 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 Washington
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Rex RiverWA · 4 mi3,810 ft0.0″—0″0″
Lynn LakeWA · 7 mi3,900 ft0.1″—0″0″
Mount GardnerWA · 7 mi2,930 ft——0″0″
Meadows PassWA · 9 mi3,230 ft0.0″—0″−1″
Tinkham CreekWA · 10 mi3,000 ft0.3″—0″0″
Olallie MeadowsWA · 13 mi4,010 ft0.0″—0″0″
Sawmill RidgeWA · 14 mi4,640 ft0.0″—0″0″
Huckleberry CreekWA · 15 mi2,250 ft0.1″—0″0″

Station details

Elevation
3,210 ft
Location
47.2767°N, 121.6714°W
County
King County, Washington
Basin
Duwamish · HUC 17110013
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 420
Station ID
420:WA:SNTL · SHEF CUMW1
Reporting since
October 1979
NWS forecast office
Seattle (SEW) 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 Cougar 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 Cougar Mountain SNOTEL?

At 3,210 ft in King County, Washington (47.2767°N, 121.6714°W), in the Duwamish 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.