Upper San Juan SNOTEL

10,140 ftMineral County, ColoradoNRCS site 840Updated Thu Oct 22, 7:00 PM MDT

SWE0.1″no median
Depth1″0″ 48 h
Temp41°29°–49° 48 h
Thu 22Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth1″ now021″Air temperature41°F now40°32°41°FNow · Thu 7 PM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth1″ now021″Air temperature41°F now40°32°41°FNow · Thu 7 PM
Sat 17Sun 18Mon 19Tue 20Wed 21Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth1″ now021″Air temperature41°F now40°32°41°FNow · Thu 7 PM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.1″ now-0.500.50.1″Snow depth1″ now021″Air temperature41°F now40°32°41°FNow · Thu 7 PM
0″10″20″30″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 29.7″ · Apr 90.1″ today
0″20″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 29.7″ · Apr 90.1″ 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 Colorado
StationElevationDepth, 7 daysSWE% medianDepth48 h
Wolf Creek SummitCO · 2 mi10,930 ft0.2″15%0″0″
Elwood PassCO · 12 mi11,680 ft1.2″—2″0″
Middle CreekCO · 14 mi11,260 ft2.2″440%3″−1″
GraybackCO · 16 mi11,620 ft1.1″—2″+2″
Lily PondCO · 17 mi11,070 ft0.8″—0″—
Weminuche CreekCO · 27 mi10,730 ft0.1″—1″+1″
Upper Rio GrandeCO · 28 mi9,370 ft0.2″—0″0″
Rat CreekCO · 32 mi11,680 ft2.9″—6″+4″

Station details

Elevation
10,140 ft
Location
37.4856°N, 106.8353°W
County
Mineral County, Colorado
Basin
Upper San Juan · HUC 14080101
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 840
Station ID
840:CO:SNTL · SHEF USJC2
Reporting since
October 1978
NWS forecast office
Pueblo (PUB) discussion

Questions

What is snow water equivalent (SWE)?

SWE is the depth of water you would get by melting the whole snowpack. Upper San Juan's 1″ of snow holds 0.1″ of water, so the pack is about 10% water. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10%; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Upper San Juan 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 Upper San Juan SNOTEL?

At 10,140 ft in Mineral County, Colorado (37.4856°N, 106.8353°W), in the Upper San Juan 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.