Surprise Lakes SNOTEL

4,280 ftSkamania County, WashingtonNRCS site 804Updated Fri Oct 16, 3:00 AM PDT

SWE—no median
Depth1″0″ 48 h
Temp48°44°–59° 48 h
Thu 15Past 48 hSnow water equivalent-0.500.5Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature48°F now40°60°32°48°FNow · Fri 3 AM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent-0.500.5Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature48°F now40°60°32°48°FNow · Fri 3 AM
Sat 10Sun 11Mon 12Tue 13Wed 14Thu 15Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent024Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature48°F now40°60°32°48°FNow · Fri 3 AM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent024Snow depth1″ now01″Air temperature48°F now40°60°32°48°FNow · Fri 3 AM
0″20″40″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 49″ · Apr 10
0″20″40″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 49″ · Apr 10
<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
Pepper CreekWA · 9 mi2,140 ft0.0″—1″0″
Spencer MeadowWA · 10 mi3,400 ft0.0″———
Lone PineWA · 16 mi3,940 ft0.0″—2″0″
Pinto RockWA · 18 mi4,450 ft0.1″—0″−1″
June LakeWA · 19 mi3,440 ft0.0″—0″0″
Swift CreekWA · 21 mi4,440 ft0.1″—0″0″
Potato HillWA · 21 mi4,480 ft0.0″—0″0″
Spirit LakeWA · 23 mi3,520 ft0.1″—0″0″

Station details

Elevation
4,280 ft
Location
46.0950°N, 121.7635°W
County
Skamania County, Washington
Basin
Lewis · HUC 17080002
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 804
Station ID
804:WA:SNTL · SHEF SPLW1
Reporting since
October 1978
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 Surprise Lakes 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 Surprise Lakes SNOTEL?

At 4,280 ft in Skamania County, Washington (46.0950°N, 121.7635°W), in the Lewis 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.