Sheep Canyon SNOTEL

3,990 ftCowlitz County, WashingtonNRCS site 748Updated Fri Oct 16, 3:00 AM PDT

Last peak18.4″SWE · Mar 12
Depth0″snow-free since May 12
Temp57°46°–66° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hAir temperature57°F now40°60°32°57°FNow · Fri 3 AM
ThuPast 48 hAir temperature57°F now40°60°32°57°FNow · Fri 3 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysAir temperature57°F now40°60°32°57°FNow · Fri 3 AM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysAir temperature57°F now40°60°32°57°FNow · Fri 3 AM
0″10″20″30″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
0″20″ONDJFMAMJJ
<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

Last season

18.4″peak snow water equivalent

Last season peaked at 18.4″ of water, 46% of the median peak.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Washington

Station details

Elevation
3,990 ft
Location
46.1932°N, 122.2539°W
County
Cowlitz County, Washington
Basin
Lower Cowlitz · HUC 17080005
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 748
Station ID
748:WA:SNTL · SHEF SHPW1
Reporting since
October 1980
NWS forecast office
Portland (PQR) 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 Sheep Canyon 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 Sheep Canyon SNOTEL?

At 3,990 ft in Cowlitz County, Washington (46.1932°N, 122.2539°W), in the Lower Cowlitz 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.