Cougar Mountain SNOTEL

3,210 ftKing County, WashingtonNRCS site 420Updated Thu Oct 22, 6:00 PM PDT

Last peak7.3″SWE · Mar 15
Depth0″snow-free since Apr 10
Temp42°42°–60° 48 h
Wed 21Thu 22Past 48 hAir temperature42°F now40°60°32°42°FNow · Thu 6 PM
WedThuPast 48 hAir temperature42°F now40°60°32°42°FNow · Thu 6 PM
Fri 16Sat 17Sun 18Mon 19Tue 20Wed 21Past 7 daysAir temperature42°F now40°60°32°42°FNow · Thu 6 PM
FriSatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysAir temperature42°F now40°60°32°42°FNow · Thu 6 PM
0″5″10″15″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
0″10″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

7.3″peak snow water equivalent

Last season peaked at 7.3″ of water, 41% of the median peak.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Washington

Station details

Elevation
3,210 ft
Location
47.2767°N, 121.6714°W
County
King County, Washington
Basin
Duwamish · HUC 17110013
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 420
Station ID
420:WA:SNTL · SHEF CUMW1
Reporting since
October 1979
NWS forecast office
Seattle (SEW) 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 Cougar Mountain 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 Cougar Mountain SNOTEL?

At 3,210 ft in King County, Washington (47.2767°N, 121.6714°W), in the Duwamish 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.