Vallecito SNOTEL

10,740 ftLa Plata County, ColoradoNRCS site 843Updated Thu Oct 22, 7:00 PM MDT

SWE0.2″no median
Depth2″+1″ 48 h
Temp38°38°–43° 48 h
Thu 22Past 48 hSnow water equivalent0.2″ now00.50.2″Snow depth2″ now02.52″Air temperature38°F now40°32°38°FNow · Thu 7 PM
ThuPast 48 hSnow water equivalent0.2″ now00.50.2″Snow depth2″ now02.52″Air temperature38°F now40°32°38°FNow · Thu 7 PM
Sat 17Sun 18Mon 19Tue 20Wed 21Past 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.2″ now010.2″Snow depth2″ now02″Air temperature38°F now30°40°32°38°FNow · Thu 7 PM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysSnow water equivalent0.2″ now010.2″Snow depth2″ now02″Air temperature38°F now30°40°32°38°FNow · Thu 7 PM
0″5″10″15″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulMedian peak 14.8″ · Apr 50.2″ today
0″10″ONDJFMAMJJMedian peak 14.8″ · Apr 50.2″ 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
Stump LakesCO · 7 mi11,230 ft0.5″83%0″−1″
Weminuche CreekCO · 11 mi10,730 ft0.1″—1″+1″
BeartownCO · 16 mi11,580 ft4.3″2150%10″+3″
Cascade #2CO · 20 mi8,990 ft0.3″—0″—
Molas LakeCO · 21 mi10,610 ft0.2″—0″0″
Spud MountainCO · 21 mi10,660 ft0.2″—0″0″
Upper Rio GrandeCO · 21 mi9,370 ft0.2″—0″0″
Middle CreekCO · 27 mi11,260 ft2.2″440%3″−1″

Station details

Elevation
10,740 ft
Location
37.4852°N, 107.5075°W
County
La Plata County, Colorado
Basin
Upper San Juan · HUC 14080101
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 843
Station ID
843:CO:SNTL · SHEF VALC2
Reporting since
October 1985
NWS forecast office
Grand Junction (GJT) discussion

Questions

What is snow water equivalent (SWE)?

SWE is the depth of water you would get by melting the whole snowpack. Vallecito's 2″ of snow holds 0.2″ 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 Vallecito 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 Vallecito SNOTEL?

At 10,740 ft in La Plata County, Colorado (37.4852°N, 107.5075°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.