Sawtooth SNOTEL

9,640 ftBoulder County, ColoradoNRCS site 1251Updated Thu Oct 22, 7:00 PM MDT

Last peak15.8″SWE · Mar 15
Depth0″snow-free since Jun 4
Temp46°33°–54° 48 h
Thu 22Past 48 hAir temperature46°F now30°40°50°32°46°FNow · Thu 7 PM
ThuPast 48 hAir temperature46°F now30°40°50°32°46°FNow · Thu 7 PM
Sat 17Sun 18Mon 19Tue 20Wed 21Past 7 daysAir temperature46°F now20°40°32°46°FNow · Thu 7 PM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysAir temperature46°F now20°40°32°46°FNow · Thu 7 PM
0″0.5″1″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
0″0.5″1″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

15.8″peak snow water equivalent

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Colorado

Station details

Elevation
9,640 ft
Location
40.1363°N, 105.5849°W
County
Boulder County, Colorado
Basin
St. Vrain · HUC 10190005
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 1251
Station ID
1251:CO:SNTL · SHEF SATC2
Reporting since
September 2014
NWS forecast office
Denver/Boulder (BOU) 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 Sawtooth 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 Sawtooth SNOTEL?

At 9,640 ft in Boulder County, Colorado (40.1363°N, 105.5849°W), in the St. Vrain 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.