North Rapid Creek SNOTEL

6,150 ftLawrence County, South DakotaNRCS site 920Updated Thu Oct 22, 7:00 PM MDT

Last peak4.5″SWE · Mar 13
Depth0″snow-free since Mar 26
Temp52°37°–67° 48 h
Thu 22Past 48 hAir temperature52°F now40°60°32°52°FNow · Thu 7 PM
ThuPast 48 hAir temperature52°F now40°60°32°52°FNow · Thu 7 PM
Sat 17Sun 18Mon 19Tue 20Wed 21Past 7 daysAir temperature52°F now25°50°75°32°52°FNow · Thu 7 PM
SatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysAir temperature52°F now25°50°75°32°52°FNow · Thu 7 PM
0″2″4″6″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
0″2.5″5″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

4.5″peak snow water equivalent

Last season peaked at 4.5″ of water, 61% of the median peak.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All South Dakota

Station details

Elevation
6,150 ft
Location
44.2062°N, 103.7876°W
County
Lawrence County, South Dakota
Basin
Rapid · HUC 10120110
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 920
Station ID
920:SD:SNTL · SHEF NRPS2
Reporting since
August 1996
NWS forecast office
Rapid City (UNR) 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 North Rapid Creek 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 North Rapid Creek SNOTEL?

At 6,150 ft in Lawrence County, South Dakota (44.2062°N, 103.7876°W), in the Rapid 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.