South Fork Shields SNOTEL

8,090 ftPark County, MontanaNRCS site 725Updated Thu Oct 22, 7:00 PM MDT

Last peak12.6″SWE · Apr 27
Depth0″snow-free since May 25
Temp55°44°–56° 48 h
Thu 22Past 48 hAir temperature55°F now40°32°55°FNow · Thu 7 PM
ThuPast 48 hAir temperature55°F now40°32°55°FNow · Thu 7 PM
Sat 17Sun 18Mon 19Tue 20Wed 21Past 7 daysAir temperature55°F now40°60°32°55°FNow · Thu 7 PM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysAir temperature55°F now40°60°32°55°FNow · Thu 7 PM
0″10″20″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
0″10″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

12.6″peak snow water equivalent

Last season peaked at 12.6″ of water, 62% of the median peak.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Montana

Station details

Elevation
8,090 ft
Location
46.0896°N, 110.4337°W
County
Park County, Montana
Basin
Shields · HUC 10070003
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 725
Station ID
725:MT:SNTL · SHEF SFSM8
Reporting since
October 1978
NRCS name
S Fork Shields
NWS forecast office
Billings (BYZ) 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 South Fork Shields 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 South Fork Shields SNOTEL?

At 8,090 ft in Park County, Montana (46.0896°N, 110.4337°W), in the Shields 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.