Elbow Lake SNOTEL

3,050 ftWhatcom County, WashingtonNRCS site 910Updated Fri Oct 16, 3:00 AM PDT

SWE0.1″no median
Depth0″0″ 48 h
Temp56°45°–66° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature56°F now50°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature56°F now50°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now010.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature56°F now50°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now010.1″Snow depth0″ now-0.500.50″Air temperature56°F now50°32°56°FNow · Fri 3 AM
0″20″40″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 40.5″ · Apr 10.1″ today
0″20″40″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 40.5″ · Apr 10.1″ 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
Middle Fork NooksackWA · 9 mi4,940 ft0.1″—0″0″
Marten RidgeWA · 11 mi3,520 ft——0″0″
Wells CreekWA · 13 mi4,040 ft0.1″———
Easy PassWA · 24 mi5,280 ft0.0″—0″0″
Deer PassWA · 26 mi3,360 ft0.0″—0″0″
Beaver PassWA · 33 mi3,630 ft0.0″—0″0″
Brown TopWA · 36 mi5,850 ft0.0″0%0″0″
Decline CreekWA · 38 mi4,480 ft0.1″—0″—

Station details

Elevation
3,050 ft
Location
48.6909°N, 121.9089°W
County
Whatcom County, Washington
Basin
Nooksack · HUC 17110004
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 910
Station ID
910:WA:SNTL · SHEF ELSW1
Reporting since
August 1995
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 Elbow Lake 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 Elbow Lake SNOTEL?

At 3,050 ft in Whatcom County, Washington (48.6909°N, 121.9089°W), in the Nooksack 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.